Vincent Zandri's Blog, page 16
June 2, 2011
Tag Me, Tag You Blues! Or It's the End of the Indie World as We Know It?
The following blog first appeared at the unbelievably popular Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
----------------------------------------
Oh man, you'd think those crazy asses who predicted the world would end on May 21 actually only got the date wrong by a little over a week. This past weekend when Amazon decided to pull their tags on E-Books (you know, those descriptive words you add to a title so that browsers can find them more easily when shopping), a whole bunch of my colleagues and cohorts immediately saw the four horsemen riders of the Apocalypse shoot down from the heavens and along with it, the end to what seemed like a very profitable run in Kindle E-Book heaven.
Add to that some unexplained lackluster sales across the board, and you have legions of indie authors contemplating their final meal: Will it be meatloaf or fried chicken?
I'm of the opinion that yes, tags are important. But I'm not of the opinion that tags alone create monumental sales. What creates great sales are the tried and true 4 rules of the indie games, or any variety of publishing game for that matter:
1. Great Cover
2. Great Product Description
3. Great Price
4. Great Book
After that you add in social media marketing, a virtual tour, a trailer, and just plain writing more great books, and you have yourself a career that should earn you steady sales that will increase with time, according to how fast your tribe of loyal readers grows.
Tags are cool because I can tag another bestselling hard-boiled mystery author and she can tag mine, and when John Q. Public goes to my Amazon page for THE INNOCENT or THE REMAINS for instance, they also see her name and then perhaps we both get a sale. But there are other ways to tag on other social media sites like Crime Space and Edgey Christian Fiction and even still on Amazon, so long as there is a paper version of the novel available.
Some people believe that the loss of tags is really the result of a conspiracy between the Big 6 publishers and the chiefs at Amazon to do away with the popular indie titles. I don't believe this is the case, because one, it would probably constitute something illegal like a payoff or payola, and two, why would Amazon shoot their hugely successful indie publishing program in both its feet just to give in to a dying white elephant?
Others believe the tags will re-appear one day soon since it must be a glitch that destroyed them in the first place (such as a Lady CaCa, excuse me, GaGa, download). This is possible I guess. Some have even been reporting that sales numbers aren't showing up and that rankings are dipping on a disproportionate scale with actual sales. Now there's a fantasy I really want to believe since I too have dipped somewhat in the ranks this week.
But you know what? Sorry Charlie, that's freakin' life.
And you know what else? Don't put all your eggs in one fragile basket. Amazon is cool, but it's only one store. Chime in on some NOOK fan sites, or sell more books off your website or your publishers website. Give some E-Books away for God's sake. The point is not to be caught with your pants down in this business. A lot of people have been asking me why I'm still writing journalism, and this tag business is precisely why.
Ok, so answers...we all want answers.
Well, I don't have any, but here's what I have to offer:
My gut reaction is that the tags will never return. And that the reason Amazon has limited product descriptions for indie novels from 7 to 2 is because the indie books are proving more popular than the company would ever have believed them to be. That said, I believe they are trying to level the playing field a little to give the higher priced novels produced by the NYC legacy publishers more of a fighting chance. The biggy novels make up a huge portion of Amazon's sales, and like Obama's stimulus packages, they're trying to light a fire under some of the same old, same old mega authors . That's what I believe anyway.
But here's what else I believe:
That tags or no tags, the most popular indie authors (and my publishing house has at least three of these authors...) will realize a 20% to 30% decline in sales this month, but that decline will be short-lived as other ways to tag and to market will inevitably put these players back on top. If nothing else, these top players will once more reach the top by simply following the aforementioned golden rules. They will also write new material, unaffected by one store's attempt at leveling a playing field that truly isn't meant to stay level.
________________________________________
Yo, grab up the new Concrete Pearl, the first in a new series starring the sexy and brassy Spike Harrison: http://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Pearl-...
Concrete Pearl
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
----------------------------------------
Oh man, you'd think those crazy asses who predicted the world would end on May 21 actually only got the date wrong by a little over a week. This past weekend when Amazon decided to pull their tags on E-Books (you know, those descriptive words you add to a title so that browsers can find them more easily when shopping), a whole bunch of my colleagues and cohorts immediately saw the four horsemen riders of the Apocalypse shoot down from the heavens and along with it, the end to what seemed like a very profitable run in Kindle E-Book heaven.
Add to that some unexplained lackluster sales across the board, and you have legions of indie authors contemplating their final meal: Will it be meatloaf or fried chicken?
I'm of the opinion that yes, tags are important. But I'm not of the opinion that tags alone create monumental sales. What creates great sales are the tried and true 4 rules of the indie games, or any variety of publishing game for that matter:
1. Great Cover
2. Great Product Description
3. Great Price
4. Great Book
After that you add in social media marketing, a virtual tour, a trailer, and just plain writing more great books, and you have yourself a career that should earn you steady sales that will increase with time, according to how fast your tribe of loyal readers grows.
Tags are cool because I can tag another bestselling hard-boiled mystery author and she can tag mine, and when John Q. Public goes to my Amazon page for THE INNOCENT or THE REMAINS for instance, they also see her name and then perhaps we both get a sale. But there are other ways to tag on other social media sites like Crime Space and Edgey Christian Fiction and even still on Amazon, so long as there is a paper version of the novel available.
Some people believe that the loss of tags is really the result of a conspiracy between the Big 6 publishers and the chiefs at Amazon to do away with the popular indie titles. I don't believe this is the case, because one, it would probably constitute something illegal like a payoff or payola, and two, why would Amazon shoot their hugely successful indie publishing program in both its feet just to give in to a dying white elephant?
Others believe the tags will re-appear one day soon since it must be a glitch that destroyed them in the first place (such as a Lady CaCa, excuse me, GaGa, download). This is possible I guess. Some have even been reporting that sales numbers aren't showing up and that rankings are dipping on a disproportionate scale with actual sales. Now there's a fantasy I really want to believe since I too have dipped somewhat in the ranks this week.
But you know what? Sorry Charlie, that's freakin' life.
And you know what else? Don't put all your eggs in one fragile basket. Amazon is cool, but it's only one store. Chime in on some NOOK fan sites, or sell more books off your website or your publishers website. Give some E-Books away for God's sake. The point is not to be caught with your pants down in this business. A lot of people have been asking me why I'm still writing journalism, and this tag business is precisely why.
Ok, so answers...we all want answers.
Well, I don't have any, but here's what I have to offer:
My gut reaction is that the tags will never return. And that the reason Amazon has limited product descriptions for indie novels from 7 to 2 is because the indie books are proving more popular than the company would ever have believed them to be. That said, I believe they are trying to level the playing field a little to give the higher priced novels produced by the NYC legacy publishers more of a fighting chance. The biggy novels make up a huge portion of Amazon's sales, and like Obama's stimulus packages, they're trying to light a fire under some of the same old, same old mega authors . That's what I believe anyway.
But here's what else I believe:
That tags or no tags, the most popular indie authors (and my publishing house has at least three of these authors...) will realize a 20% to 30% decline in sales this month, but that decline will be short-lived as other ways to tag and to market will inevitably put these players back on top. If nothing else, these top players will once more reach the top by simply following the aforementioned golden rules. They will also write new material, unaffected by one store's attempt at leveling a playing field that truly isn't meant to stay level.
________________________________________
Yo, grab up the new Concrete Pearl, the first in a new series starring the sexy and brassy Spike Harrison: http://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Pearl-...
Concrete Pearl
May 30, 2011
Reason for Going Indie? Control, Control, Control...
The following was originally published at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
I love these stories.
Stories about old "legacy" model published authors switching to the indie publishing model (be it self-publishing or traditionally based small indie), and achieving so much success they can then make a good living from their fiction.
Terry ODell is one such author who, previously published by Five-Star/Gale is now pursuing self-publishing. In her newest blog at Terry's Place (http://terryodell.blogspot.com/2011/0...), ODell spells out the pros and cons of making the move from the old publishing model to the new indie model. I'm repeating them here. And even though they are specific to her individual circumstances, I'm sure these pros and cons will speak to each and every author who frequents the Vox:
Pros:
No lengthy wait time.
Keeps "new" material in front of readers.
Royalty payments come directly to me.
It's not as much of a 'suspense' as the other books, and the 'covert ops' side of things is less of a focus, so it's quite likely the publisher wouldn't have acquired it anyway, since they no longer have a romance imprint.
Cons:
To ensure quality, I paid a free-lance editor and a cover artist out of pocket. I also made the decision to keep the cover "similar" in tone to the other Blackthorne books, even though it's not an obvious "romantic suspense." And because I used photographs I'd taken, I saved some money there.
I had to deal with the other things a publisher normally does. In the case of an e-book, that means formatting it for the various outlets (and there are different requirements for each). It also means I'm solely responsible for marketing.
Regardless of what's pro about ODell's situation or con, the one thing that sticks out most of all is the control she now has over her books. From writing, to bringing them to market, to editing, to cover design to marketing, she is solely responsible. No longer is she at the mercy of a publisher who might take three months to consider her new material only to reject it in the end, or what could even be worse, accept it but not publish it for a a year to two years and then hang on to the rights for a decade beyond that.
One thing I'll suggest to Terry is that if she considers editing and marketing a "con" she might think about submitting her material to a popular maverick indie press like StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink. It's true she would be expected to market like crazy on her own, but their marketing efforts would also increase her chances of breaking into the Top 100 Kindles and/or Nooks exponentially. She also wouldn't have to worry about editing, formatting, conversions, covers, etc. They would naturally do all that for her, allowing her more time and, more control over that time.
Time better spent writing.
GET CONCRETE PEARL, the New Bestselling Thriller by the No. 1 Internationally Bestselling Kindle Author, Vincent Zandri!!!!
WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Concrete Pearl
I love these stories.
Stories about old "legacy" model published authors switching to the indie publishing model (be it self-publishing or traditionally based small indie), and achieving so much success they can then make a good living from their fiction.
Terry ODell is one such author who, previously published by Five-Star/Gale is now pursuing self-publishing. In her newest blog at Terry's Place (http://terryodell.blogspot.com/2011/0...), ODell spells out the pros and cons of making the move from the old publishing model to the new indie model. I'm repeating them here. And even though they are specific to her individual circumstances, I'm sure these pros and cons will speak to each and every author who frequents the Vox:
Pros:
No lengthy wait time.
Keeps "new" material in front of readers.
Royalty payments come directly to me.
It's not as much of a 'suspense' as the other books, and the 'covert ops' side of things is less of a focus, so it's quite likely the publisher wouldn't have acquired it anyway, since they no longer have a romance imprint.
Cons:
To ensure quality, I paid a free-lance editor and a cover artist out of pocket. I also made the decision to keep the cover "similar" in tone to the other Blackthorne books, even though it's not an obvious "romantic suspense." And because I used photographs I'd taken, I saved some money there.
I had to deal with the other things a publisher normally does. In the case of an e-book, that means formatting it for the various outlets (and there are different requirements for each). It also means I'm solely responsible for marketing.
Regardless of what's pro about ODell's situation or con, the one thing that sticks out most of all is the control she now has over her books. From writing, to bringing them to market, to editing, to cover design to marketing, she is solely responsible. No longer is she at the mercy of a publisher who might take three months to consider her new material only to reject it in the end, or what could even be worse, accept it but not publish it for a a year to two years and then hang on to the rights for a decade beyond that.
One thing I'll suggest to Terry is that if she considers editing and marketing a "con" she might think about submitting her material to a popular maverick indie press like StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink. It's true she would be expected to market like crazy on her own, but their marketing efforts would also increase her chances of breaking into the Top 100 Kindles and/or Nooks exponentially. She also wouldn't have to worry about editing, formatting, conversions, covers, etc. They would naturally do all that for her, allowing her more time and, more control over that time.
Time better spent writing.
GET CONCRETE PEARL, the New Bestselling Thriller by the No. 1 Internationally Bestselling Kindle Author, Vincent Zandri!!!!
WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Concrete Pearl
May 26, 2011
PART II of my Q&A with J.Carson Black: Is it Possible to Achieve Multiple Climaxes?
Ok, get you're mind out of the gutter.
This is a family show after all.
But what J.Carson Black has me exploring this time is this: Is it possible for an indie author experience multiple climaxes with his or her books or, what's known as "spikes" up the E-Book, Kindle, and NOOK bestseller lists?
My simple answer is "yes."
While in traditional publishing, it's more common to have a single spike after which the book will slow down and hopefully enjoy steady sales (as Black points out in her query to me), it's more likely that with the indie publishing model, our books can enjoy multiple spikes for as long as we live, or for as long as E-Readers are sold to the reading public, which will be forever and ever.
Unlike in traditional publishing, we authors can better control our pricing (in my case, I consult with my publisher, Aaron Patterson, at StoneGate Ink, who is always receptive to price changes if it's worth it). Take THE INNOCENT for instance, which reached No. 3 on the Amazon Kindle E-Book Bestseller list last month, and stayed in the Top 10 for more than a month. It rose up like a rocket after we changed the price from $2.99 to $.99. But what also fueled this fire was that the novel had just been the subject of a month long virtual tour, and the cyberwaves were full of fresh reviews and interviews regarding the book.
Since May 1st, 'Innocent' has been priced at either $3.99 or back to it's $2.99, and it's never descended lower than 270 or so. Which means we're probably making more money by not being priced at $.99 and holding our own in the top 10. While I'll sell somewhere around 12K copies of 'Innocent' this month, I'd have to sell around 70K in order to receive the same cash payout at the $.99 price. That's a lot of books.
But...and this is a big BUTTTT....Books that are able to reach not only the Top 100 of the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List, but the Top 25, help propel your other higher priced books. Just take a look at Black's novels. Incredibly, she has something like 4 books in the Top 100 right now, and these books are almost certainly fueling one another. With a $.99 price tag, they are priced to sell, netting her a very nice payday. If she were to price some of her novels at $2.99 or even $3.99, they might not reside in the T0p 100 but they would certainly generate a whole lot of pretty green for her.
So can THE INNOCENT achieve a multiple climax?
Almost certainly.
There are certain books that will drag ass no matter how much you push them. There are other books that will sell steadily at a certain range and not move too far up or down no matter what you do (those are you money makers...your bread and butter books)). Then there are those books that will do better than others if given the slightest nudge, and THE INNOCENT seems to be one of them. Right now it's selling at around 200, making us a nice, fair profit. But I'm certain StoneGate will run a special at some point in the future and when it does, the novel will likely work it's way into a hot, loud, screaming climax.
But remember folks, it ain't all about pricing. It's more about great writing, and putting out a lot of books. You never know which ones are going to take off. So concentrate more on the writing as a craft and you will succeed. Inevitably, it's your best marketing tool. If the writing is no good, you'd better plan on getting a real job.
Get this blog and others like them at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Concrete Pearl
This is a family show after all.
But what J.Carson Black has me exploring this time is this: Is it possible for an indie author experience multiple climaxes with his or her books or, what's known as "spikes" up the E-Book, Kindle, and NOOK bestseller lists?
My simple answer is "yes."
While in traditional publishing, it's more common to have a single spike after which the book will slow down and hopefully enjoy steady sales (as Black points out in her query to me), it's more likely that with the indie publishing model, our books can enjoy multiple spikes for as long as we live, or for as long as E-Readers are sold to the reading public, which will be forever and ever.
Unlike in traditional publishing, we authors can better control our pricing (in my case, I consult with my publisher, Aaron Patterson, at StoneGate Ink, who is always receptive to price changes if it's worth it). Take THE INNOCENT for instance, which reached No. 3 on the Amazon Kindle E-Book Bestseller list last month, and stayed in the Top 10 for more than a month. It rose up like a rocket after we changed the price from $2.99 to $.99. But what also fueled this fire was that the novel had just been the subject of a month long virtual tour, and the cyberwaves were full of fresh reviews and interviews regarding the book.
Since May 1st, 'Innocent' has been priced at either $3.99 or back to it's $2.99, and it's never descended lower than 270 or so. Which means we're probably making more money by not being priced at $.99 and holding our own in the top 10. While I'll sell somewhere around 12K copies of 'Innocent' this month, I'd have to sell around 70K in order to receive the same cash payout at the $.99 price. That's a lot of books.
But...and this is a big BUTTTT....Books that are able to reach not only the Top 100 of the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List, but the Top 25, help propel your other higher priced books. Just take a look at Black's novels. Incredibly, she has something like 4 books in the Top 100 right now, and these books are almost certainly fueling one another. With a $.99 price tag, they are priced to sell, netting her a very nice payday. If she were to price some of her novels at $2.99 or even $3.99, they might not reside in the T0p 100 but they would certainly generate a whole lot of pretty green for her.
So can THE INNOCENT achieve a multiple climax?
Almost certainly.
There are certain books that will drag ass no matter how much you push them. There are other books that will sell steadily at a certain range and not move too far up or down no matter what you do (those are you money makers...your bread and butter books)). Then there are those books that will do better than others if given the slightest nudge, and THE INNOCENT seems to be one of them. Right now it's selling at around 200, making us a nice, fair profit. But I'm certain StoneGate will run a special at some point in the future and when it does, the novel will likely work it's way into a hot, loud, screaming climax.
But remember folks, it ain't all about pricing. It's more about great writing, and putting out a lot of books. You never know which ones are going to take off. So concentrate more on the writing as a craft and you will succeed. Inevitably, it's your best marketing tool. If the writing is no good, you'd better plan on getting a real job.
Get this blog and others like them at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Concrete Pearl
PART II of my Q&A with J.Carson Black: Is it Possible to Achieve Multiple Climaxes?
Ok, get you're mind out of the gutter.
This is a family show after all.
But what J.Carson Black has me exploring this time is this: Is it possible for an indie author experience multiple climaxes with his or her books or, what's known as "spikes" up the E-Book, Kindle, and NOOK bestseller lists?
My simple answer is "yes."
While in traditional publishing, it's more common to have a single spike after which the book will slow down and hopefully enjoy steady sales (as Black points out in her query to me), it's more likely that with the indie publishing model, our books can enjoy multiple spikes for as long as we live, or for as long as E-Readers are sold to the reading public, which will be forever and ever.
Unlike in traditional publishing, we authors can better control our pricing (in my case, I consult with my publisher, Aaron Patterson, at StoneGate Ink, who is always receptive to price changes if it's worth it). Take THE INNOCENT for instance, which reached No. 3 on the Amazon Kindle E-Book Bestseller list last month, and stayed in the Top 10 for more than a month. It rose up like a rocket after we changed the price from $2.99 to $.99. But what also fueled this fire was that the novel had just been the subject of a month long virtual tour, and the cyberwaves were full of fresh reviews and interviews regarding the book.
Since May 1st, 'Innocent' has been priced at either $3.99 or back to it's $2.99, and it's never descended lower than 270 or so. Which means we're probably making more money by not being priced at $.99 and holding our own in the top 10. While I'll sell somewhere around 12K copies of 'Innocent' this month, I'd have to sell around 70K in order to receive the same cash payout at the $.99 price. That's a lot of books.
But...and this is a big BUTTTT....Books that are able to reach not only the Top 100 of the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List, but the Top 25, help propel your other higher priced books. Just take a look at Black's novels. Incredibly, she has something like 4 books in the Top 100 right now, and these books are almost certainly fueling one another. With a $.99 price tag, they are priced to sell, netting her a very nice payday. If she were to price some of her novels at $2.99 or even $3.99, they might not reside in the T0p 100 but they would certainly generate a whole lot of pretty green for her.
So can THE INNOCENT achieve a multiple climax?
Almost certainly.
There are certain books that will drag ass no matter how much you push them. There are other books that will sell steadily at a certain range and not move too far up or down no matter what you do (those are you money makers...your bread and butter books)). Then there are those books that will do better than others if given the slightest nudge, and THE INNOCENT seems to be one of them. Right now it's selling at around 200, making us a nice, fair profit. But I'm certain StoneGate will run a special at some point in the future and when it does, the novel will likely work it's way into a hot, loud, screaming climax.
But remember folks, it ain't all about pricing. It's more about great writing, and putting out a lot of books. You never know which ones are going to take off. So concentrate more on the writing as a craft and you will succeed. Inevitably, it's your best marketing tool. If the writing is no good, you'd better plan on getting a real job.
Get this blog and others like them at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Concrete Pearl
This is a family show after all.
But what J.Carson Black has me exploring this time is this: Is it possible for an indie author experience multiple climaxes with his or her books or, what's known as "spikes" up the E-Book, Kindle, and NOOK bestseller lists?
My simple answer is "yes."
While in traditional publishing, it's more common to have a single spike after which the book will slow down and hopefully enjoy steady sales (as Black points out in her query to me), it's more likely that with the indie publishing model, our books can enjoy multiple spikes for as long as we live, or for as long as E-Readers are sold to the reading public, which will be forever and ever.
Unlike in traditional publishing, we authors can better control our pricing (in my case, I consult with my publisher, Aaron Patterson, at StoneGate Ink, who is always receptive to price changes if it's worth it). Take THE INNOCENT for instance, which reached No. 3 on the Amazon Kindle E-Book Bestseller list last month, and stayed in the Top 10 for more than a month. It rose up like a rocket after we changed the price from $2.99 to $.99. But what also fueled this fire was that the novel had just been the subject of a month long virtual tour, and the cyberwaves were full of fresh reviews and interviews regarding the book.
Since May 1st, 'Innocent' has been priced at either $3.99 or back to it's $2.99, and it's never descended lower than 270 or so. Which means we're probably making more money by not being priced at $.99 and holding our own in the top 10. While I'll sell somewhere around 12K copies of 'Innocent' this month, I'd have to sell around 70K in order to receive the same cash payout at the $.99 price. That's a lot of books.
But...and this is a big BUTTTT....Books that are able to reach not only the Top 100 of the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List, but the Top 25, help propel your other higher priced books. Just take a look at Black's novels. Incredibly, she has something like 4 books in the Top 100 right now, and these books are almost certainly fueling one another. With a $.99 price tag, they are priced to sell, netting her a very nice payday. If she were to price some of her novels at $2.99 or even $3.99, they might not reside in the T0p 100 but they would certainly generate a whole lot of pretty green for her.
So can THE INNOCENT achieve a multiple climax?
Almost certainly.
There are certain books that will drag ass no matter how much you push them. There are other books that will sell steadily at a certain range and not move too far up or down no matter what you do (those are you money makers...your bread and butter books)). Then there are those books that will do better than others if given the slightest nudge, and THE INNOCENT seems to be one of them. Right now it's selling at around 200, making us a nice, fair profit. But I'm certain StoneGate will run a special at some point in the future and when it does, the novel will likely work it's way into a hot, loud, screaming climax.
But remember folks, it ain't all about pricing. It's more about great writing, and putting out a lot of books. You never know which ones are going to take off. So concentrate more on the writing as a craft and you will succeed. Inevitably, it's your best marketing tool. If the writing is no good, you'd better plan on getting a real job.
Get this blog and others like them at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Concrete Pearl
May 19, 2011
Is There a Silver Bullet to Bestselling E-Book Sales?
(What follows is part one of an ongoing informal Q&A I've got going with bestselling author J.Carson Black. The Q&A will be published in parts here and on Black's blog and eventually in its entirety)
The Silver Bullet for bestselling book sales: Does it actually exist?
My humble opinion: There is no silver bullet per se, when it comes to selling a lot of E-Books, Nooks and Kindles, so much as there are "bullets."
What's for certain is that every E-Book which is successful (and paper book for that matter) will have at least four things in common:
1. A great cover.
2. An intriguing and well written product description.
3. A price that says "Buy me" to impulse buyers ($.99 is a good place to start).
4. Great writing and a great story.
The other stuff or, in this case, more bullets: Social Networking on Facebook and Twitter helps keep you in the know, and so do virtual tours. Every published author has to maintain an up-to-date blog these days, and it pays to put out as many books as you can write well in a reasonable amount of time since you never know which title or titles is simply going to take off. Bestsellers like Aaron Patterson and JA Konrath have reminded us of the important of title proliferation time and time again in their own blogs.
The one silver bullet no one can control however is this: Luck.
Some books either have it or they don't. There are books out there that get terrible reviews and win no prizes that somehow hit the Amazon Top Ten Bestselling Kindle E-Book List and there are books that win major awards like the Edgar and receive wonderful reviews that tank in the marketplace. You simply never can tell.
I'm convinced my new books have sold well in part because I've published two novels with the big legacy publishers in New York City. Titles that received a lot of praise from such notable publications as Publishers Weekly, The Boston Herald and the New York Post. Those reviews are mine to keep forever and ever, and my new publisher at StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink does not hesitate to display them prominently now that the same books, THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD are republished and enjoying Top 100 Amazon Kindle Bestseller status ("Innocent" was in the Top Ten for a month).
However, despite all the above, if you were to twist my arm and hold me down on the ground and demand one solid answer to the question, "What's the silver bullet?" the closest sure bet would be price. Simply said, when a title is $.99 it tends to sell. On the other hand, there are many more books priced at $.99 that DO NOT SELL than there are books that move! Remember what I just said about luck?
There's something else to consider about price: Do these "one buck" discounted e-books make the kind of money that a novel priced at $2.99 or even $3.99 will make? Not by a long shot. But if you are lucky, you might move a thousand or more per day and that will give you a great Amazon ranking.
"Innocent" was priced at $.99 for a short time. But at the start of this month it went back to its normal, $3.99 price tag. At the same time we witnessed a steady drop in ranking from No. 3 to around 90-120 over the past three weeks (after moving around 80,000 - 100,000 units in eight weeks). Trust me when I say we are pleasantly surprised. A price increase of 400% raised the possibility of the novel immediately plummeting in ranking to somewhere back in the 4 figures. But "Innocent" has proven its worth with a great cover, great product description, great reviews, and what I hope is very good story. What it won't do at that price however, is entice many of the impulse buyers who buy now/read later. Still, the novel is making far more money at the new, higher price. And we feel that $3.99 is still a bargain. Have you bought a Big Mac lately?
So, to repeat, there is no silver bullet when it comes to selling books, but there are bullets. And each and every one of them is painted with a layer of luck in order for them to hit their target.
Concrete Pearl
The Silver Bullet for bestselling book sales: Does it actually exist?
My humble opinion: There is no silver bullet per se, when it comes to selling a lot of E-Books, Nooks and Kindles, so much as there are "bullets."
What's for certain is that every E-Book which is successful (and paper book for that matter) will have at least four things in common:
1. A great cover.
2. An intriguing and well written product description.
3. A price that says "Buy me" to impulse buyers ($.99 is a good place to start).
4. Great writing and a great story.
The other stuff or, in this case, more bullets: Social Networking on Facebook and Twitter helps keep you in the know, and so do virtual tours. Every published author has to maintain an up-to-date blog these days, and it pays to put out as many books as you can write well in a reasonable amount of time since you never know which title or titles is simply going to take off. Bestsellers like Aaron Patterson and JA Konrath have reminded us of the important of title proliferation time and time again in their own blogs.
The one silver bullet no one can control however is this: Luck.
Some books either have it or they don't. There are books out there that get terrible reviews and win no prizes that somehow hit the Amazon Top Ten Bestselling Kindle E-Book List and there are books that win major awards like the Edgar and receive wonderful reviews that tank in the marketplace. You simply never can tell.
I'm convinced my new books have sold well in part because I've published two novels with the big legacy publishers in New York City. Titles that received a lot of praise from such notable publications as Publishers Weekly, The Boston Herald and the New York Post. Those reviews are mine to keep forever and ever, and my new publisher at StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink does not hesitate to display them prominently now that the same books, THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD are republished and enjoying Top 100 Amazon Kindle Bestseller status ("Innocent" was in the Top Ten for a month).
However, despite all the above, if you were to twist my arm and hold me down on the ground and demand one solid answer to the question, "What's the silver bullet?" the closest sure bet would be price. Simply said, when a title is $.99 it tends to sell. On the other hand, there are many more books priced at $.99 that DO NOT SELL than there are books that move! Remember what I just said about luck?
There's something else to consider about price: Do these "one buck" discounted e-books make the kind of money that a novel priced at $2.99 or even $3.99 will make? Not by a long shot. But if you are lucky, you might move a thousand or more per day and that will give you a great Amazon ranking.
"Innocent" was priced at $.99 for a short time. But at the start of this month it went back to its normal, $3.99 price tag. At the same time we witnessed a steady drop in ranking from No. 3 to around 90-120 over the past three weeks (after moving around 80,000 - 100,000 units in eight weeks). Trust me when I say we are pleasantly surprised. A price increase of 400% raised the possibility of the novel immediately plummeting in ranking to somewhere back in the 4 figures. But "Innocent" has proven its worth with a great cover, great product description, great reviews, and what I hope is very good story. What it won't do at that price however, is entice many of the impulse buyers who buy now/read later. Still, the novel is making far more money at the new, higher price. And we feel that $3.99 is still a bargain. Have you bought a Big Mac lately?
So, to repeat, there is no silver bullet when it comes to selling books, but there are bullets. And each and every one of them is painted with a layer of luck in order for them to hit their target.
Concrete Pearl
May 15, 2011
Dudes Writing as Dames
I'm a dude.
A guy.
A boy.
I have a pee-pee and I like football games, weight lifting, beer, wings, black coffee and toasted hard-rolls, shooting guns, facial hair, scratching my ass in public, spitting, swearing, Clint Eastwood, Hemingway, Levis, cowboy boots, cut-off T-shirts, drums, violence of all sorts and varieties, sexy girls, and no, I don't eat quiche and tough guys don't dance (unless it's with the devil).
So how is it that I've just written my third novel from a female point of view, and somehow gotten away with it? Last summer, when THE REMAINS was first released, I was asked that very question a lot by both interviewers and fans. And now that my newest novel in a series, CONCRETE PEARL has been released by StoneGate Ink, I will almost surely get asked the question again and again.
So, in order to cut to the chase, here's my answer.
Truth is, I don't freakin' know how I'm able to pull off the female POV.
But I can tell you this: I grew up entirely surrounded by women. My mom, and my two sisters. My dad worked a lot, like lots of dads back in the 60's and 70's, and he couldn't be around all the time. Plus I was a bit of a loner so, when I was home, I was home with girls. And man, could they fight!
Then my parents moved me to a new neighborhood when I was 7 years old, and much to their chagrin, but my pleasant surprise, the kids in the hood were almost entirely female. And yah, they were real cute. How I figured this out at 7 years old I'll never know, but I should have known back then I'd be in for a life-time of heartache.
But, I digress...
Later on in my teens, I would become one of those dudes who always had to have a girlfriend. You know, the type who can't be alone with himself for too long. Which might seem strange since you all know me as a bachelor who works alone and often travels alone. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm just getting off a breakup now with a girl I was seeing on and off for almost two years and yah, it hurts. I might be a boy, but I'm also sensitive (wiping a tear from my right eye...)
In my 20s and 30s, I would become the guy who always had to be married. Luckily however, after two failed marriages, I've learned not to jump into the a third one so quickly. What else have I learned? That just because a woman smiles at you doesn't mean she wants to bear your children. But I digress once again...
So, what's my point?
Ah yes, the female POV.
Well, as far as CONCRETE PEARL goes, Ava "Spike" Harrison was easy. She's a construction business owner and a tough but sexy broad who also likes to solve a good mystery now and again. Especially when her size 8 ass and even her life is on the line, as it is in "Pearl." I too grew up in the construction business and had I chosen to, could have been a construction business owner.
Don't confuse Spike for a guy with boobs, she's a real woman who enjoys men, but who can hold her own with the toughest guys. And she doesn't carry a gun. For an "equalizer" she likes to carry around a framing hammer, and she's not afraid to use it should some dude take a swipe at her or try and place his paws someplace where they don't belong.
Think "Tomb Raider" meets "The Woman's Murder Club" and you'll begin to have an idea of what Spike and her new series will be all about.
Ok, that's it for now, I have to go get my nails done, and I'm feeling bloated and I have a headache. I've been crying a lot lately too ... at the littlest things.....
Concrete Pearl
A guy.
A boy.
I have a pee-pee and I like football games, weight lifting, beer, wings, black coffee and toasted hard-rolls, shooting guns, facial hair, scratching my ass in public, spitting, swearing, Clint Eastwood, Hemingway, Levis, cowboy boots, cut-off T-shirts, drums, violence of all sorts and varieties, sexy girls, and no, I don't eat quiche and tough guys don't dance (unless it's with the devil).
So how is it that I've just written my third novel from a female point of view, and somehow gotten away with it? Last summer, when THE REMAINS was first released, I was asked that very question a lot by both interviewers and fans. And now that my newest novel in a series, CONCRETE PEARL has been released by StoneGate Ink, I will almost surely get asked the question again and again.
So, in order to cut to the chase, here's my answer.
Truth is, I don't freakin' know how I'm able to pull off the female POV.
But I can tell you this: I grew up entirely surrounded by women. My mom, and my two sisters. My dad worked a lot, like lots of dads back in the 60's and 70's, and he couldn't be around all the time. Plus I was a bit of a loner so, when I was home, I was home with girls. And man, could they fight!
Then my parents moved me to a new neighborhood when I was 7 years old, and much to their chagrin, but my pleasant surprise, the kids in the hood were almost entirely female. And yah, they were real cute. How I figured this out at 7 years old I'll never know, but I should have known back then I'd be in for a life-time of heartache.
But, I digress...
Later on in my teens, I would become one of those dudes who always had to have a girlfriend. You know, the type who can't be alone with himself for too long. Which might seem strange since you all know me as a bachelor who works alone and often travels alone. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm just getting off a breakup now with a girl I was seeing on and off for almost two years and yah, it hurts. I might be a boy, but I'm also sensitive (wiping a tear from my right eye...)
In my 20s and 30s, I would become the guy who always had to be married. Luckily however, after two failed marriages, I've learned not to jump into the a third one so quickly. What else have I learned? That just because a woman smiles at you doesn't mean she wants to bear your children. But I digress once again...
So, what's my point?
Ah yes, the female POV.
Well, as far as CONCRETE PEARL goes, Ava "Spike" Harrison was easy. She's a construction business owner and a tough but sexy broad who also likes to solve a good mystery now and again. Especially when her size 8 ass and even her life is on the line, as it is in "Pearl." I too grew up in the construction business and had I chosen to, could have been a construction business owner.
Don't confuse Spike for a guy with boobs, she's a real woman who enjoys men, but who can hold her own with the toughest guys. And she doesn't carry a gun. For an "equalizer" she likes to carry around a framing hammer, and she's not afraid to use it should some dude take a swipe at her or try and place his paws someplace where they don't belong.
Think "Tomb Raider" meets "The Woman's Murder Club" and you'll begin to have an idea of what Spike and her new series will be all about.
Ok, that's it for now, I have to go get my nails done, and I'm feeling bloated and I have a headache. I've been crying a lot lately too ... at the littlest things.....
Concrete Pearl
May 13, 2011
Indie Publishers Achieve the Impossible
I came across a blog yesterday by writer Robin Sullivan of Michigan who seems to have her finger pressed against the pulse of self and indie publishing, especially the Amazon Top 100 for Kindle E-Books. For the past few months she has been watching the progress of my novel THE INNOCENT (as well as it's sequel, GODCHILD), and in the meantime, reported some interesting facts on its position in the Top 100 these past 57 days, the most interesting of which, if not ironic, is this: the new self-publishing model has enabled me to make a living as a traditionally published author.
A good living.
In other words, since my indie publisher StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink runs their operation on only a fraction of the overhead of that of the big boy legacy pubs in NYC who used to publish both THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD, they are able to liberally play with pricing. In this case, THE INNOCENT was priced at $.99 for about a month allowing it to reach as far as No. 4 in the Top 100. Once that happened, StoneGate then changed the price to $4.99 in order that we might increase our profits for the month of May, which has worked. The risk that can occur from such a dramatic pricing shift is that the novel could be bumped out of the Top 100 in a matter of a couple of days. But INNOCENT has shown some resilience in hanging in there for 13 days now at the new price, or about half the month.
Add to that another price change down to $3.99 as of yesterday afternoon, and it's possible we'll hang in there for the entire month. Time will tell. But even if we don't, we will have made as much money in the past two month on THE INNOCENT as I made when I cashed my first big advance check for the novel (and that check was about as much as some people make in a whole year!).
Which leads me to conclude: StoneGate Ink has been able to pull off what Random House could not. It has made both THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD Top 100 Bestsellers and it made them profitable. The publisher has also gave the novels staying power by recognizing that a novel isn't something that's static once it's released to the public; or something that you toss up against the wall to see if it sticks. A novel and it's pricing is something that must constantly be tweaked and honed, until it finds its own sweet spot.
But regardless of pricing, the most important thing the indie publisher has done for me is to generate an audience of enthusiastic fans that now measures in the hundreds of thousands.
For more head to The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
A good living.
In other words, since my indie publisher StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink runs their operation on only a fraction of the overhead of that of the big boy legacy pubs in NYC who used to publish both THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD, they are able to liberally play with pricing. In this case, THE INNOCENT was priced at $.99 for about a month allowing it to reach as far as No. 4 in the Top 100. Once that happened, StoneGate then changed the price to $4.99 in order that we might increase our profits for the month of May, which has worked. The risk that can occur from such a dramatic pricing shift is that the novel could be bumped out of the Top 100 in a matter of a couple of days. But INNOCENT has shown some resilience in hanging in there for 13 days now at the new price, or about half the month.
Add to that another price change down to $3.99 as of yesterday afternoon, and it's possible we'll hang in there for the entire month. Time will tell. But even if we don't, we will have made as much money in the past two month on THE INNOCENT as I made when I cashed my first big advance check for the novel (and that check was about as much as some people make in a whole year!).
Which leads me to conclude: StoneGate Ink has been able to pull off what Random House could not. It has made both THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD Top 100 Bestsellers and it made them profitable. The publisher has also gave the novels staying power by recognizing that a novel isn't something that's static once it's released to the public; or something that you toss up against the wall to see if it sticks. A novel and it's pricing is something that must constantly be tweaked and honed, until it finds its own sweet spot.
But regardless of pricing, the most important thing the indie publisher has done for me is to generate an audience of enthusiastic fans that now measures in the hundreds of thousands.
For more head to The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
May 10, 2011
"One True Sentence"
Then there was a young man who no longer wanted to pursue a traditional education. That young man would be my son, Harrison, whom we refer to as "Bear" because he looks like one in every bit of that cuddly, dark, and furry curl-up-to-him kind of way. Recently the Bear came to me to ask if he could stop attending his high school (where he was an A student) in order to pursue a writing career. Naturally I was both thrilled and frightened by this notion. While on one hand I was happy that he wanted to engage in a career that has become my own life-passion, I was also concerned that he too would have to experience many of the pitfalls, calamities, frustrations, depressions, losses too many to count, and all those hardships that can go with the writing life, not to mention being scary broke at times.
But having expressed my feelings to him (and some of these so called "expressions" occurred in the form of heated discussions to say the least), I acquiesced to his desires. And I did so for one reason and one reason only. I wanted him to be happy.
Fast forward to the present...
...Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
But having expressed my feelings to him (and some of these so called "expressions" occurred in the form of heated discussions to say the least), I acquiesced to his desires. And I did so for one reason and one reason only. I wanted him to be happy.
Fast forward to the present...
...Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
May 7, 2011
The Past is Prologue: How We've Changed Since 2001
It's a one of those existential Saturday mornings after a later night gig with The Blisterz, when I'm sitting at my writing desk, a little worn and torn from having only gone to bed a few hours ago and back up pretty much with the sunlight as its rays sneak their way into my bedroom through the cracks in the shades. It's been a monumental week in that we got Osama. It took us ten years but, like everyone like's to put it, "We got him."
That said, I'm not about to get into some political OBL thing. He was a cold blooded killer who committed mass murder in the name of God, and the world is a better place without him. What I'm thinking about is how so much the world as we knew it has changed in the past decade.
Curiously, back then, I used to smoke cigs, and I can recall sitting in a bar in New York with my then editor while we smoked and drank. GODCHILD had just been released for the first time, so I was still in a hopeful of its success, and we were still young enough that we could party into the early hours of the next morning. Since that time, smoking has been banned in public places in New York, and I in turn quit the cancer sticks almost six years ago now, and I can no longer party in the early hours...
Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
That said, I'm not about to get into some political OBL thing. He was a cold blooded killer who committed mass murder in the name of God, and the world is a better place without him. What I'm thinking about is how so much the world as we knew it has changed in the past decade.
Curiously, back then, I used to smoke cigs, and I can recall sitting in a bar in New York with my then editor while we smoked and drank. GODCHILD had just been released for the first time, so I was still in a hopeful of its success, and we were still young enough that we could party into the early hours of the next morning. Since that time, smoking has been banned in public places in New York, and I in turn quit the cancer sticks almost six years ago now, and I can no longer party in the early hours...
Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
May 5, 2011
Who is Chris White!?!
So, the title of this blog begs an answer. And of course "You'll get yours Mister (and Missus)" soon enough. But I can give you this as a starter course. I first met Chris White this past Fall when I attended the first ever Boise Book Expo. Like me Chris is a StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink dude, and a lover of words. He's also a really great guy and a family man, not to mention a scruffy, stocky, bad ass who possess an uncanny knack for writing in the voice of, well, a teenage girl.
Shocked?
....Get the rest of the scoop from The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Godchild
Shocked?
....Get the rest of the scoop from The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Godchild
