Darius Jones's Blog: A Writer Begins - Posts Tagged "kdp"

Well, in keeping with the promise of this blog to include both the trials and triumphs, here’s the breakdown of the stats from my Amazon KDP Select giveaway this weekend.

US 271 downloads
United Kingdom 39 downloads
Germany 14 downloads
Total 324 downloads

At first, I was a bit disappointed. I had about over 400 downloads in one day during my first giveaway on July 18. So, I was hoping to get about 400-800 downloads for the 2-days weekend giveaway. But, in retrospect, I think that was asking too much. I think the earlier adopter/downloaders have already seen the book, so it has lost a bit of its “wow factor.” And it was a nice summer weekend and the Olympics were on. So, maybe not the best timing.

One thing that doesn’t fit with this theory is that Germany actually had more downloads than previously. Maybe vegging out and watching the Olympics isn’t as popular in Germany?

Anyway, finishing the math for all 3 KDP Giveaway days, we get:

Aug. 4 -5 Total 324 downloads
July 18 Total 423 downloads
Sales to Date 27 copies
Grand Total 774

The upshot of all this is that I feel confident enough to admit that my goal since my first KDP giveaway on The Library of Lost Books has been to get 1,000 downloads and 29 sales for the book, over the book’s entire lifetime. (If you sell your book at .99 cents, 29 sales is the magic number you need to get a $10 royalty check. Amazon won't send you a check until you hit the $10 mark). And that’s what I told myself all weekend long: “Don’t forget your original goal.”

It’s still my goal and I hope to reach it soon. With a little luck I’ll get there before my KDP 3-month run is up on Oct. 10. I will keep you all posted.

Thanks to all of you for buying/downloading. Keeping checking the blog for future giveaways and news and...

Keep Spreading the Word,

Darius

PS Here’s your musical treat.



This was playing on my Pandora station as I periodically (limited to once every 4 hours) checked my stats on the Amazon Kindle store this weekend.

My short story, The Truck Stop, is free this weekend on Amazon’s Kindle store. Some have called it a “Weird Western.” But I just call it literary fiction.

It’s about Thomas, his friend Trish and the last truck stop in Orange County, California. It was a story that incubated in my head for about seven years…And then…I heard this song and everything fell into place.

I kept playing the song over and over on my PC and in my own head, and then I realized it was the atmosphere I had always wanted in my story. So, I just sat down and wrote the opening paragraph, but with the mood and tone of that song laid in. The rest of the story (which I had tucked away for years in my head) just flowed from there.

This was written and published (via the miracle of wireless, thanks, Nikola et al) from Lafayette Square in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. The vibe down there added something to the story because it didn’t end where I intended it to. Instead, as I sat there, I decided to change the ending and have Thomas just take a walk after most of the action had ended. I’m glad I did because it I think it adds something to the story. I think it adds quite a bit, in fact.

But see what you think. As you hunker down for Sandy or get back from your Halloween party, download the piece and read it. At about 4,000 words, it’s a typical length for a short story.

And one last thing, the song playing over the speaker system in The Truck Stop became “Dancing with the Women at the Bar.” It was that final, small detail that really tied the story together. Or am I wrong?

Hope you enjoy it.

(The story is free October 27 and October 28 on Amazon’s Kindle store, just to be exact.)

There were 94 downloads of my story, The Truck Stop, this weekend from the Kindle store during my giveaway. 88 in the U.S., five in the U.K. and one from Germany.

Not too bad for a short story giveaway that I didn’t promote too heavily. Thanks for stopping by and downloading. And please leave a short review when you get a few minutes.

And in case you missed your chance, you can still download it for 99 cents. Until next time…