Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 59

Paid ads to promote a novel?

Wolf’s Head has been selling incredibly well for the few months it’s been out, topping the UK Kindle “War” chart, the overall “War” chart, and even breaking into the “Historical Fiction” top 20 which is…beyond words really for a debut self-published author. But I noticed the chart placings were starting to dip a little after three months so I thought I’d try some paid ads to keep the interest going.

I’m not talking about paying ten grand for an ad during the Super Bowl or in the middle of “Coronation Street”, I’m meaning a few quid here and there just to see if it actually makes any difference to sales.

Here are my initial thoughts – I’ll post more as time goes on and I try new avenues.

First, and most expensively, I tried The Kindle Book Review. I spent £30 on a one day ad with them where they did something or other (my wife was giving birth to my new son around this time so I’m not exactly sure what or where they posted). I noticed no increase in sales, or hits on my Facebook page or anything else.

Next I tried some Goodreads ads with a total spending limit of about £20. These are quite good value – you only pay when someone actually CLICKS on the ad. I’ve been running three or four of these, aimed at different markets, for a week or so and…I haven’t paid a penny yet because I’ve had not one single click. The ads have been viewed, but not clicked on so it seems like I’m getting free advertising which is fine by me but in terms of them actually doing anything tangible? Nothing.

Finally, I tried Facebook. I expected this to eat money while returning little, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. For a couple of pounds I managed to get about 50+ new likes on my Wolf’s Head Facebook page in just a few hours, and the vast majority of them are from India which is a market I was really hoping to target. I haven’t sold any extra books in India today though, so in terms of sales maybe it’s not that impressive after all, but to add so many new “likes” to a page at least proves the money was spent on SOMETHING tangible.

Overall then, do paid ads work? From what I can see, if you only want to spend a modest amount, it’s probably not worth it – good reviews and word of mouth are much more important. 

I will post more at a later date as I try different sites and, if the book keeps selling well, I might even try spending a little more on some ads. If anyone can recommend a worthwhile place to spend my money, please do so!

I’m a daddy again!

Thank you to my beautiful wife for giving us a son, Riley, who was born yesterday. Being a daddy to our 6 year old Freya is the most amazing thing in the world for me, so I couldn’t be happier at the thought of having TWO children!

And it means I will have two weeks paternity leave from work, so I will hopefully get a bit of The Wolf and the Raven written in between nappy changes etc.

Goodreads giveaway finished…

…and it was a great success! Apparently giveaways on the site average about 840 entrants – Wolf’s Head managed to attract 1500 entries, which is excellent exposure for the book.

Pleasingly for me, both the winners (one from Denmark and one from Slovenia) were really happy to have won, so I’m glad to know the books are going to good homes.

Wolf’s Head has had a few new 4 star reviews on both the US and UK Amazon sites too, and it’s been within the top 200 in the UK OVERALL Kindle best-seller chart for the past week thanks to the “100 Books under £2.99″ promo, so things are going incredibly well!

Tonight, I plan on writing some of the sequel, The Wolf and the Raven - I might not get much chance for a while, my wife’s due to give birth on Thursday..!

Thanks for all your support, stay tuned.

Only 2 days left for the Giveaway!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/64762?utm_medium=api&utm_source=giveaway_widget

For a chance to win one of the original editions of Wolf’s Head, signed by me, click on the link and enter the giveaway. There’s two copies, and the giveaway is open WORLDWIDE. So what are you waiting for, there’s only two days left!

Steven A. McKay: Wolfs Head (Review)

Reblogged from parmenionbooks:

About the Author

My name is Steven A. McKay and I’m a writer from Old Kilpatrick, near Glasgow in Scotland, heavily influenced by the likes of Bernard Cornwell, Doug Jackson, Anthony Riches, Robert Low et al.

My first book, Wolf’s Head, is set in medieval England and is a fast-paced, violent retelling of the Robin Hood legends. I think my take on the theme is quite different to anything that’s been done before.

Read more… 543 more words

Fine review of Wolf's Head from a highly respected reviewer!

Wolf’s Head only 99p!

Wolf’s Head is part of Amazon.co.uk’s “100 Kindle books for under £2.99″ October promotion, and is reduced for now to just 99 pence! 

If you haven’t read it yet, now is the perfect time to take a look…When Amazon asked if I wanted to be a part of it I wasn’t sure how it would pan out – I might not sell any more than I already have been after all. But it’s more than half price, so hopefully it will fire right back up to the top of the charts and build my readership for the rest of the series.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolfs-Head-Forest-Lord-ebook/dp/B00DSCDZFY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1372869572&sr=8-1

New Q&A with an Indian blogger

http://varnam.nationalinterest.in/2013/09/interview-steven-a-mckay-author-of-wolfs-head/

Please take a look – his questions were a little different, and great fun to answer!

How to create a kick-ass book cover

 Ever since I published my novel Wolf’s Head I’ve had people asking me about the cover. Someone on Twitter even told me I should think about making the image into posters.

I’m not sure I have a big enough readership/fanbase yet to make that a worthwhile venture, but it was an interesting idea, and got me thinking about maybe making bookmarks or business cards with the Wolf’s Head design on them.

So, how did I get such a cool cover on my self-published book?

Well, first of all, I knew I wanted a professional cover. I spent a lot of time writing the book, a lot of money having an editor go over my first draft, then even more time working to fit in her suggestions and craft the finished novel. There was no way I was going to stick some crappy self-made Photoshop number on there. It deserved better.

I’d read Gordon Doherty’s Legionary (which you should check out, it’s great) and the cover really stood out for me.

I asked him about it and he told me the guys at GB Print had made the image for him. So I emailed them with my basic idea for the Wolf’s Head cover: a medieval archer against a forest backdrop, basically.

The first draft they sent me was great, but not quite right. The overall colour was turquoise, the big arrowhead (which wasn’t my idea and I hated at first, but soon realised was a really eye-catching design) was a fantasy-style thing and, most importantly for historical purists out there, Robin was holding a small bow!

 I asked for those things to be changed, along with some other very minor points like the fonts and pretty much what you see now is the result. I was very pleasantly surprised at how simple the process was, and how, after just a couple of emails, the designers had managed to craft what I think is a really striking image. It didn’t cost the earth either – I’m sure the cover has paid for itself tenfold. It was a sound investment.

I’m now working on the sequel to Wolf’s Head and I honestly can’t wait to see what the new cover might turn out like. The working title is The Wolf and the Raven. I think that opens up lots of interesting possibilities….

Stay tuned. The next book will be out within a few months, and I’m sure the cover will be fantastic.

Anyone fancy a poster for their bedroom wall…?

Wolf’s Head video trailer

Music by Nocturnal Fire

Guest post by me about writing the second novel AND win a signed copy of Wolf’s Head!

http://thereviewgroup.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/paulas-people-guest-post-steven-mckay.html?spref=fb