Stephen Drivick's Blog - Posts Tagged "kindle-unlimited"
Sometimes We Ran - 60 copies sold.
Another milestone for Sometimes We Ran 2: Community - 60 copies sold as of today. Thank you, zombie fans!
Speaking of fans, SWR 2 got a five-star review the other day on Amazon. It simply said, "This book is awesome." I'll take it! :)
In other news, my short story bugs just came off Select. It's now available in the NOOK, Kobo, Apple, DriveThruFiction, Scribd, and Inktera bookstores as well as Kindle. In case you can't tell by the title, it's about giant, man-eating bugs destroying civilization. Just the ticket for a light, breezy, summer read.:)
Also, I made a decision about Kindle Unlimited ...I think. I'm going to stay out, and remain in the other bookstores. I'm sure the program is good, but I think I want to make my work available to all zombie fans across the ereader universe.
Then again, I might change my mind. You never know. :)
Speaking of fans, SWR 2 got a five-star review the other day on Amazon. It simply said, "This book is awesome." I'll take it! :)
In other news, my short story bugs just came off Select. It's now available in the NOOK, Kobo, Apple, DriveThruFiction, Scribd, and Inktera bookstores as well as Kindle. In case you can't tell by the title, it's about giant, man-eating bugs destroying civilization. Just the ticket for a light, breezy, summer read.:)
Also, I made a decision about Kindle Unlimited ...I think. I'm going to stay out, and remain in the other bookstores. I'm sure the program is good, but I think I want to make my work available to all zombie fans across the ereader universe.
Then again, I might change my mind. You never know. :)
Then Again ... (Kindle Unlimited)
I know I said I wasn't going to do it, but I changed my mind.
I put Sometimes We Ran into KDP Select and the Kindle Unlimited program.
Other authors had stated that it did okay for their books, so I decided to give it a try. I'm not a big fan of going exclusive with Amazon, but it's only three months. If it doesn't work out, I can go back to the other bookstores.
JA Konrath (big time author dude) recently wrote a blog on what to do when your sales tank and you lose visibility. He had some great suggestions, including one saying "join KDP Select to shake things up."
So, I took his advice and "shook things up." Sometimes We Ran is now in Select and Kindle Unlimited, at least for the next three months.
Then we'll see what happens. :) Don't worry NOOK, Kobo, Apple, and DriveThruFiction, I might be back.
And, if you would like to read Sometimes We Ran for free and you're a Kindle Unlimited member, step over to this link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZLEYZE
Be sure to press the magic "Kindle Unlimited" button, and thanks.:)
I put Sometimes We Ran into KDP Select and the Kindle Unlimited program.
Other authors had stated that it did okay for their books, so I decided to give it a try. I'm not a big fan of going exclusive with Amazon, but it's only three months. If it doesn't work out, I can go back to the other bookstores.
JA Konrath (big time author dude) recently wrote a blog on what to do when your sales tank and you lose visibility. He had some great suggestions, including one saying "join KDP Select to shake things up."
So, I took his advice and "shook things up." Sometimes We Ran is now in Select and Kindle Unlimited, at least for the next three months.
Then we'll see what happens. :) Don't worry NOOK, Kobo, Apple, and DriveThruFiction, I might be back.
And, if you would like to read Sometimes We Ran for free and you're a Kindle Unlimited member, step over to this link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZLEYZE
Be sure to press the magic "Kindle Unlimited" button, and thanks.:)
All In
Well, I've gone and done it. Sometimes We Ran 2: Community is in Kindle Unlimited. Now you can read both books of my little zombie apocalypse saga for free with your membership!
Enough promotion - here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HUGWWQC
And just for the heck of it, here's the first one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZLEYZE
Enough promotion - here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HUGWWQC
And just for the heck of it, here's the first one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZLEYZE
Sometimes We Ran 2: Community - One Year Published.
Hard to believe, but Sometimes We Ran 2 has been in publication for one year. When I finished the first volume, Sometimes We Ran, I never pictured writing a follow-up. Then the ideas started to flow, and I fired up Open Office. A few months later, another manuscript was born.
So far, it hasn't sold as fast as the first book but that's okay. To help it along, I'm running a weekend flash sale.
This time, I was able to correctly set up a Kindle Countdown sale. The new price clicked into place about 3 a.m. this morning, North Georgia time.:) If you want to try Sometimes We Ran 2 for 99 cents, you have about 2 days, 22 hours to go get it into your Kindle! It's also available to borrow in the Kindle Unlimited program.
Thank you zombie fans. Here's to another great year for Sometimes We Ran 2.
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HUGWWQC
So far, it hasn't sold as fast as the first book but that's okay. To help it along, I'm running a weekend flash sale.
This time, I was able to correctly set up a Kindle Countdown sale. The new price clicked into place about 3 a.m. this morning, North Georgia time.:) If you want to try Sometimes We Ran 2 for 99 cents, you have about 2 days, 22 hours to go get it into your Kindle! It's also available to borrow in the Kindle Unlimited program.
Thank you zombie fans. Here's to another great year for Sometimes We Ran 2.
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HUGWWQC
Sometimes We Ran 3 - 3 Months Published.
Hard to believe, but Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue has been out for 3 months already.
It had a difficult birth. Halfway through the writing, I suffered a pinched nerve in my right shoulder. Pinched nerve is putting it lightly. It felt like someone was shoving a jagged piece of glass in my shoulder blade every time I tried to type. At one point, I was down to about 20-30 words a writing session.
Fingers went numb as well. On my right hand, the fingers got all tingly and sent shooting pains when I hit the keys. Long words and sentences almost made me pass out.:)
That wasn't all.
I recovered, my shoulder felt better, and the typing picked up. I managed to finish the manuscript. After a few self edits, I sent it to my editor and waited.
And waited...
Sometimes We Ran 3: The Manuscript just disappeared. The normal one week turnaround from my editor turned into a two month delay. Turns out the editor got the flu and couldn't do any manuscripts.:) After a slight delay, he got to SWR 3 and did his usually bang-up job. It was sent back with an apology.
So, after all the struggle let's put it on sale! 99 cents until next weekend.
Available in the Amazon Kindle bookstore. You can borrow it with your Kindle Unlimited membership if you want.
Quick link: http://tinyurl.com/SometimesWeRan3AMZN
Till next time zombie fans. And take care of your shoulder nerves.:)
It had a difficult birth. Halfway through the writing, I suffered a pinched nerve in my right shoulder. Pinched nerve is putting it lightly. It felt like someone was shoving a jagged piece of glass in my shoulder blade every time I tried to type. At one point, I was down to about 20-30 words a writing session.
Fingers went numb as well. On my right hand, the fingers got all tingly and sent shooting pains when I hit the keys. Long words and sentences almost made me pass out.:)
That wasn't all.
I recovered, my shoulder felt better, and the typing picked up. I managed to finish the manuscript. After a few self edits, I sent it to my editor and waited.
And waited...
Sometimes We Ran 3: The Manuscript just disappeared. The normal one week turnaround from my editor turned into a two month delay. Turns out the editor got the flu and couldn't do any manuscripts.:) After a slight delay, he got to SWR 3 and did his usually bang-up job. It was sent back with an apology.
So, after all the struggle let's put it on sale! 99 cents until next weekend.
Available in the Amazon Kindle bookstore. You can borrow it with your Kindle Unlimited membership if you want.
Quick link: http://tinyurl.com/SometimesWeRan3AMZN
Till next time zombie fans. And take care of your shoulder nerves.:)
A Passage From Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue
“Could you use some company? Getting kind of cold and lonely over on the other wall.”
I picked my head up, and looked into Claire's smiling face. “Yeah...okay,” I said, moving over to give her some room. It had been a few hours since she had spoken to me.
She sat down with a heavy sigh, and put her head against the wall. “Got to say. Not one of our better trips outside.”
I managed a small laugh. “No. Not very smooth, I guess. Saw you talking to Lyle before. Did you get anything out of him?”
“No,” said Claire with a tinge of sadness in her voice. “He's pretty out of it.” She stretched out her legs, and flexed her injured ankle. “I guess losing everything does that to a person.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
Claire put her head on my shoulder. “You remember the time you and I had to hide out in that candy store?”
“Yeah. That was so long ago. I remember the rain. We were both drenched. The Red-Eyes surrounded the place, and you found that stale fudge with the green fuzz on it in the back.”
Claire laughed softly. “It wasn't so bad with the green stuff cut off. We pigged out.”
“Filled our bellies,” I said. The memory washed over me like an ocean wave. That had been a long night.
“How did we get out of that one?” Claire said.
“The rain got worse, and turned into hail. It drove the zombies back into hiding. We made a break for it out the back door,” I said.
“Oh, yeah...across the field with the black mud,” Claire said. “I remember running over all the bodies buried in that mud. Still have dreams about it, sometimes.”
“Stepping over skulls,” I said. “Are you saying that time was similar to this situation?”
“Maybe. We won't be able to use the back door,” Claire said.
“The cold may drive the zombies away from the bank. Maybe we can make a run for the bus,” I said. It was, at least, a little hope.
Claire took hold of my hand. “Do you think they miss us back home?” Claire was full of questions.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Maybe they're looking for us right now.”
Claire was silent for a while, like she was thinking. Then she said, “That guy at the Fort. The one I hit with my bat. I killed him, didn't I?”
A chill ran through my tired body. “I don't know...”
She sat up. “Don't lie to me.”
Claire was my good friend. We had been through hell together, and came out the other side. I couldn't bring myself to her anything but the full truth. “It didn't look good.”
Claire looked down, and shook her head. “I knew it. Been thinking about it since we left the Fort.” Disgusted with herself, she continued, “I'm starting to agree with you. What you said before. It's getting too easy to kill.” She began to cry softly, tears running down her cheeks. “We will never be forgiven for what we've done.”
I looked into Claire's deep, blue eyes. The hard years after the zombie apocalypse had dulled them slightly, but they still sparkled with life. The toll of struggle was no doubt written on our faces. There was nothing I would have rather done at this moment than get her home. Get her home to her son. I wanted to get us both back home so we could live again, and try to forget about the bad world outside. She had never killed anyone with her bat before, just the undead. I always dealt with the living with my gun.
“Don't pay any attention to what I say,” I said. “I don't know what I'm talking about.”
Claire returned her head to my shoulder and put her arms around me. We often sat like this in the past when we were on the road together. I put my arm around her to try and comfort her, to comfort both of us. “We've both had a really lousy trip, I guess.” I kissed the top of Claire's head. Even with all the running around and dealing with zombies, her hair still managed to smell like fresh strawberries.
We sat like that for an hour or two, silent. Outside, the dead danced, and shuffled around on the sidewalk of the old town. The moaning and growling was picking up again. To drown them out, I tried to concentrate on my breathing, trick myself into closing my eyes to rest. It was difficult over the noise, but I managed to relax a little. I didn't notice when Claire stood up.
My eyes popped open. “What is it?”
Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue available in the Amazon Kindle bookstore and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-We-Ra...
Till next time, zombie fans.
I picked my head up, and looked into Claire's smiling face. “Yeah...okay,” I said, moving over to give her some room. It had been a few hours since she had spoken to me.
She sat down with a heavy sigh, and put her head against the wall. “Got to say. Not one of our better trips outside.”
I managed a small laugh. “No. Not very smooth, I guess. Saw you talking to Lyle before. Did you get anything out of him?”
“No,” said Claire with a tinge of sadness in her voice. “He's pretty out of it.” She stretched out her legs, and flexed her injured ankle. “I guess losing everything does that to a person.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
Claire put her head on my shoulder. “You remember the time you and I had to hide out in that candy store?”
“Yeah. That was so long ago. I remember the rain. We were both drenched. The Red-Eyes surrounded the place, and you found that stale fudge with the green fuzz on it in the back.”
Claire laughed softly. “It wasn't so bad with the green stuff cut off. We pigged out.”
“Filled our bellies,” I said. The memory washed over me like an ocean wave. That had been a long night.
“How did we get out of that one?” Claire said.
“The rain got worse, and turned into hail. It drove the zombies back into hiding. We made a break for it out the back door,” I said.
“Oh, yeah...across the field with the black mud,” Claire said. “I remember running over all the bodies buried in that mud. Still have dreams about it, sometimes.”
“Stepping over skulls,” I said. “Are you saying that time was similar to this situation?”
“Maybe. We won't be able to use the back door,” Claire said.
“The cold may drive the zombies away from the bank. Maybe we can make a run for the bus,” I said. It was, at least, a little hope.
Claire took hold of my hand. “Do you think they miss us back home?” Claire was full of questions.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Maybe they're looking for us right now.”
Claire was silent for a while, like she was thinking. Then she said, “That guy at the Fort. The one I hit with my bat. I killed him, didn't I?”
A chill ran through my tired body. “I don't know...”
She sat up. “Don't lie to me.”
Claire was my good friend. We had been through hell together, and came out the other side. I couldn't bring myself to her anything but the full truth. “It didn't look good.”
Claire looked down, and shook her head. “I knew it. Been thinking about it since we left the Fort.” Disgusted with herself, she continued, “I'm starting to agree with you. What you said before. It's getting too easy to kill.” She began to cry softly, tears running down her cheeks. “We will never be forgiven for what we've done.”
I looked into Claire's deep, blue eyes. The hard years after the zombie apocalypse had dulled them slightly, but they still sparkled with life. The toll of struggle was no doubt written on our faces. There was nothing I would have rather done at this moment than get her home. Get her home to her son. I wanted to get us both back home so we could live again, and try to forget about the bad world outside. She had never killed anyone with her bat before, just the undead. I always dealt with the living with my gun.
“Don't pay any attention to what I say,” I said. “I don't know what I'm talking about.”
Claire returned her head to my shoulder and put her arms around me. We often sat like this in the past when we were on the road together. I put my arm around her to try and comfort her, to comfort both of us. “We've both had a really lousy trip, I guess.” I kissed the top of Claire's head. Even with all the running around and dealing with zombies, her hair still managed to smell like fresh strawberries.
We sat like that for an hour or two, silent. Outside, the dead danced, and shuffled around on the sidewalk of the old town. The moaning and growling was picking up again. To drown them out, I tried to concentrate on my breathing, trick myself into closing my eyes to rest. It was difficult over the noise, but I managed to relax a little. I didn't notice when Claire stood up.
My eyes popped open. “What is it?”
Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue available in the Amazon Kindle bookstore and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-We-Ra...
Till next time, zombie fans.
Milestones
To tell you the truth, I don't sell a whole lot of books. They do sell a few each month, but I'm not a bestseller ...yet.
Even though I'm not a full time author making a living off my books, I do like to celebrate the occasional milestone. Sometimes We Ran just passed 300 copies sold, and Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue just crossed the 50 copies sold line. It's pretty much a drop in the bucket compared to some authors. Considering I didn't think I'd sell any, I'm jumping for joy. :)
Pages read under the Kindle Unlimited program also reached a milestone of sorts – 20,000 pages. Kindle Unlimited is a controversial subject with some authors (and readers), but it's worked out so far. My zombie tales will be staying in KU for the foreseeable future.
And now, to throw some self-promotion in this blog entry, all three of my zombie novels will be 99 cents until Halloween. Scary books at scary low prices. :) Maybe I can boost those numbers.
Till next time ...
I guess Sometimes We Ran 2: Community didn't want to be left out of all the milestones. It hit 100 copies sold after this entry came out. I'm almost relieved ...most experts say most self-published books don't sell 100 copies. I always feel better when they get to 100 copies.
Even though I'm not a full time author making a living off my books, I do like to celebrate the occasional milestone. Sometimes We Ran just passed 300 copies sold, and Sometimes We Ran 3: Rescue just crossed the 50 copies sold line. It's pretty much a drop in the bucket compared to some authors. Considering I didn't think I'd sell any, I'm jumping for joy. :)
Pages read under the Kindle Unlimited program also reached a milestone of sorts – 20,000 pages. Kindle Unlimited is a controversial subject with some authors (and readers), but it's worked out so far. My zombie tales will be staying in KU for the foreseeable future.
And now, to throw some self-promotion in this blog entry, all three of my zombie novels will be 99 cents until Halloween. Scary books at scary low prices. :) Maybe I can boost those numbers.
Till next time ...
I guess Sometimes We Ran 2: Community didn't want to be left out of all the milestones. It hit 100 copies sold after this entry came out. I'm almost relieved ...most experts say most self-published books don't sell 100 copies. I always feel better when they get to 100 copies.
