Stephen Drivick's Blog - Posts Tagged "sales"
The No-Sales Blues
My sales are so bad...
...I tried to promote on Twitter, but everyone just gave me the finger.
...Barnes & Noble asked me when I was going to leave the ebook business.
...Draft2Digital sent me a sympathy card.
...one of characters contacted me, and wants to be written out of the sequel.
...my laptop sent me an email that said, "Just stop."
...that I consider one sale every two weeks a rally.
...when the numbers change on my sales reports, they creak like an old door.
:)
...I tried to promote on Twitter, but everyone just gave me the finger.
...Barnes & Noble asked me when I was going to leave the ebook business.
...Draft2Digital sent me a sympathy card.
...one of characters contacted me, and wants to be written out of the sequel.
...my laptop sent me an email that said, "Just stop."
...that I consider one sale every two weeks a rally.
...when the numbers change on my sales reports, they creak like an old door.
:)
100 Copies Sold.
Sometimes We Ran just sold its 100th copy today! To all the people that bought my little novel ...thanks.
I didn't know what to expect when I published, but I really wanted to make at least a 100 sales. That number came from an article that said most indie publishers on average didn't sell 100 copies after pushing the publish button. I thought that if I reached 100 copies, I could buck the trend.:)
Some things I have learned:
-Amazon may be the king of the world
Roughly 80% of my sales came from the great and powerful 'Zon. That includes both ebooks and print copies through CreateSpace. These guys know how to sell books! I know other people do well in other stores, but I can't budge the needle anywhere else.
-You have to do a print copy.
When I started out, I did not intend to do a print copy. I'm glad I went through the trouble. The softcover looks great, and it sold 20 copies. It's also cool to see your words in print.:)
-It's really tough to read reviews.
Right now, I have 5 reviews on Amazon. They average about 4.4 stars. Every time one pops up, I feel very cold and nervous. I got a 3 star a few months ago, and couldn't sleep for a week!
-Facebook and Twitter are necessary.
I was a casual Facebook user, and I avoided Twitter like a bad rash. However, most people get their info from them. You have to be on both.
-Open Office is pretty cool.
I use a downloaded copy of Open Office to write. It works very well. A lot of people use fancy programs, but good ole Open Office works just great. It's not fancy, but it just works. It's the Chevy Nova of word programs.:)
-Stop checking sales, and have fun.
I admit. I am a recovering chronic sales report checker. I would check my reports a few times a day, and want to hide under my desk when sales slowed up. I'm now down to 2 or 3 times a day. I stopped wringing my hands about sales, and relaxed a bit. I'm starting to have fun writing. I'll probably never be a rich bestseller, but the sales will come. At least I hope they do.:)
Again, thanks to all my new readers. I hope you enjoyed the book. Looking forward to Sometimes We Ran-150 copies sold.:)
I didn't know what to expect when I published, but I really wanted to make at least a 100 sales. That number came from an article that said most indie publishers on average didn't sell 100 copies after pushing the publish button. I thought that if I reached 100 copies, I could buck the trend.:)
Some things I have learned:
-Amazon may be the king of the world
Roughly 80% of my sales came from the great and powerful 'Zon. That includes both ebooks and print copies through CreateSpace. These guys know how to sell books! I know other people do well in other stores, but I can't budge the needle anywhere else.
-You have to do a print copy.
When I started out, I did not intend to do a print copy. I'm glad I went through the trouble. The softcover looks great, and it sold 20 copies. It's also cool to see your words in print.:)
-It's really tough to read reviews.
Right now, I have 5 reviews on Amazon. They average about 4.4 stars. Every time one pops up, I feel very cold and nervous. I got a 3 star a few months ago, and couldn't sleep for a week!
-Facebook and Twitter are necessary.
I was a casual Facebook user, and I avoided Twitter like a bad rash. However, most people get their info from them. You have to be on both.
-Open Office is pretty cool.
I use a downloaded copy of Open Office to write. It works very well. A lot of people use fancy programs, but good ole Open Office works just great. It's not fancy, but it just works. It's the Chevy Nova of word programs.:)
-Stop checking sales, and have fun.
I admit. I am a recovering chronic sales report checker. I would check my reports a few times a day, and want to hide under my desk when sales slowed up. I'm now down to 2 or 3 times a day. I stopped wringing my hands about sales, and relaxed a bit. I'm starting to have fun writing. I'll probably never be a rich bestseller, but the sales will come. At least I hope they do.:)
Again, thanks to all my new readers. I hope you enjoyed the book. Looking forward to Sometimes We Ran-150 copies sold.:)
Sometimes We Ran - 7 Years Published
It was seven years ago. I sat in a darkened hotel room at a car show (RIP F-Body Gathering) with my finger over the link to my Kindle publishing account. A few hours ago my book, Sometimes We Ran: A Story from the Zombie Apocalypse, had gone live and was for sale.
I hesitated. Would anyone buy my book? Would anyone pay their hard-earned $2.99 for my words? Would I be cursed by the dreaded zero sales for the month? I had to check.
With my heart actually pounding, I tapped the link. My account loaded up, and I went to the sales report. Two people had bought my book in those early hours. Two people were reading the words I wrote. I was actually selling a book on Amazon. The rest of the day just flew by.
Sometimes We Ran: A Story from the Zombie Apocalypse will be set to the low price of .99 cents to mark the occasion. And to the two people who bought my book in those early hours, you made a nervous first time author extremely happy.
Oh...my car also won a trophy at that car show. It was a great weekend.:)
I hesitated. Would anyone buy my book? Would anyone pay their hard-earned $2.99 for my words? Would I be cursed by the dreaded zero sales for the month? I had to check.
With my heart actually pounding, I tapped the link. My account loaded up, and I went to the sales report. Two people had bought my book in those early hours. Two people were reading the words I wrote. I was actually selling a book on Amazon. The rest of the day just flew by.
Sometimes We Ran: A Story from the Zombie Apocalypse will be set to the low price of .99 cents to mark the occasion. And to the two people who bought my book in those early hours, you made a nervous first time author extremely happy.
Oh...my car also won a trophy at that car show. It was a great weekend.:)
