David Gaughran's Blog, page 26
August 3, 2011
July Sales Report: Big Jump In Sales, Huge Jump In Revenue
From the beginning, I promised to publish my sales figures every month. I had several reasons for this. Joe Konrath was the first I know of to share all his numbers.
Several followed his lead, and that culture of openness he initiated was a key factor in my realization that self-publishing was now a viable path for any writer.
I think most writers find these numbers helpful, but I know a minority find it a little distasteful. That's fine.
If you are if that persuasion, I have a guest post today ...
August 2, 2011
Exclusive: Indie Author Michael Wallace Signs 5 Book Deal With Amazon
Indie writer Michael Wallace has been signed to a 5 book deal by Amazon's imprint Thomas & Mercer, hot on the heels of the deal they struck with J Carson Black last week.
Michael is the author of several thrillers, including the bestselling Righteous series, The Red Rooster, and The Devil's Deep. His newest self-published title The Devil's Peak, was released today.
He now joins J Carson Black, JA Konrath, Blake Crouch, Barry Eisler, and Ed McBain in what is a top-drawer line-up for Amazon's...
Podcasting for the Indie Author: Guest Post By W Brondt Kammfer
There's a lot of interest in podcasting at the moment. Authors such as Scott Sigler and Nathan Lowell attribute at least part of their success to the large, passionate audiences they built through their regular podcasts.
However, most writers don't have a clue about what podcasting entails, or how they could explore it further. I'm certainly in that camp, so I thought it would be a good idea to invite someone along who knows a lot more about it to give us the basics.
July 30, 2011
Agents And Publishing: A Roadmap For Writers
I haven't spoken much about the news this week that more agents are moving into publishing. I have already made my feelings clear here and in my book. In any event, there has been excellent coverage elsewhere, by Passive Guy, and Courtney Milan.
Also, one of the agencies in question (there was another later in the week), BookEnds, has indicated that they will be providing more comprehensive information next week, so I think it's fair to allow them time to do that before dealing with their...
July 29, 2011
E-reader War Heats Up. How Can You Profit?
The major players are already jockeying for position in advance of what promises to be a bumper holiday season for e-reader, tablet, and e-book sales.
All the major manufacturers are expected to release new e-readers and tablets including Sony, Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. In addition, there are expected to be a range of devices from a selection of manufacturers tied to the Google platform.
While users of one device aren't necessarily chained to the retailer's e-bookstore, customers will ...
July 28, 2011
What Do You Want?
Trying to get writers to agree on something is like herding cats. We are all passionate people. We have a tendency to flare up over minor disputes (especially online). And we can usually pen a tight argument for pretty much any position.
But I also think a lot of disagreements spring from the fact that we are all very different people, with different dreams, goals, and ambitions.
As such, what might be good advice for one writer could be bad advice for another. Especially if you are aiming for ...
July 27, 2011
Amazon Rakes In More Cash, And Spends It Wisely
Amazon announced its Q2 results yesterday, and the growth was stunning – net sales were up 51% on 2010, topping out at $9.91bn for the three month period ending June 30.
Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said that "low prices, expanding selection, fast delivery and innovation are driving the fastest growth we've seen in over a decade." He also noted that the Kindle 3G with Special Offers (priced at $139) quickly became their bestselling Kindle. As usual, no exact numbers were given.
Those deep...
July 26, 2011
Indie Author J Carson Black Agrees Publishing Deal With Amazon
J Carson Black has agreed a three book deal with Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's new thriller and mystery imprint. The deal will include her bestselling thriller The Shop, as well as two yet-to-be-released titles.
This is very interesting news.
For those who don't know J Carson Black, she is the author of seven titles, and first self-published in June 2010. She didn't see significant sales for months, and only really took off in April this year.
And take off she did. She is closing in on 250,000...
July 24, 2011
The Relentless March of E-books
The AAP released their monthly figures (for May) on Thursday, and the same trends that we have seen all year have continued. Print is in freefall.
Adult hardback dropped 38.2% year-on-year, adult trade paperback fell 14.3%, and adult mass-market paperback plunged 39.4%. By contrast, e-books grew 146.9% year-on-year.
Children's YA paperback bucked the trend by growing in May 2011 by 4.7% year-on-year. However, when we look at how all categories are performing in the first five months of 2011...
July 22, 2011
Guest Post by Moses Siregar III: Using "Free" to Generate Pre-Release Buzz
One of the criticisms that self-publishers face is that they rush their work out. Sometimes it's bad covers, or poor editing, but sometimes the book just wasn't ready to be published.
Today's guest poster, Moses Siregar III, understands the importance of making sure your book is the best you can possibly make it before you sent it out into the world.
Rather than be frustrated by seeing other indie writers dive in and rack up sales, Moses never rushed his work, instead taking the time to...
