May Sales Numbers
May was a rough month for me. Don't get me wrong - it was still a great month. Every month that goes by since I first decided to self-publish has been like a dream come true. I love the freedom that self-publishing gives to me. I love creating the stories I want to write and never having to worry that an agent or editor won't like them. I only have to think about the reader. It's awesome.
On the other hand, writing books this fast isn't easy. I fully intended to get Book 4 out before the end of May, but here it is June 6 and the book still isn't finished. More about that later. Today is about sales numbers. A few very exciting things happened in May. First of all, I got new book covers!! The new covers definitely invigorated my sales numbers. What was looking like a rough month turned around in the last week to be a decent month without a lot of drop in sales despite the fact that I didn't get a new book out yet. The covers were designed by Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. She did an amazing job, and I think the new look has had a great impact on the way people view the series.
The second exciting thing that happened is that I passed 20,000 books sold! That's spread between all three books, but it's still super exciting. I am hoping once Book 4 comes out, I will pass 25,000 books total pretty quickly. So, here are my sales numbers for the month of May:
BEAUTIFUL DEMONS - Book 1 of the PHD series - $0.99 (10/31/10)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 1306 US sales + 35 UK + 0 DE = 1341Barnes & Noble: 254Smashwords: 3Total: 1598INNER DEMONS - Book 2 of the PHD series - $0.99 (12/22/10)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 1071 US sales + 24 UK + 1 DE = 1096Barnes & Noble: 128Smashwords: 5Total: 1229BITTER DEMONS - Book 3 of the PHD series - $2.99 (2/24/11)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 986 US sales + 17 UK sales + 1 DE = 1004Barnes & Noble: 108Smashwords: 5Total: 1117Total April Sales: 3944
Total Self-Publishing Sales Over 7 months: 20,967
The month ended up being only a couple hundred less than April, which I think is great since I haven't had a new release since February. Book 4 in my series will definitely be out in June, so hopefully I should see a burst of sales from that book's release. Then, I am still hoping to release Book 5 by the end of August. I am so anxious to get started with my next series as well. I love writing and the more I write, the more I love what I do. Creating stories is so much fun when you have freedom.
Side Note: I'll be speaking on self-publishing at the local RWA chapter meeting, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, this upcoming Saturday. For more information, visit the HCRW website. If you are local to the Raleigh, NC area, anyone is welcome to attend!
On the other hand, writing books this fast isn't easy. I fully intended to get Book 4 out before the end of May, but here it is June 6 and the book still isn't finished. More about that later. Today is about sales numbers. A few very exciting things happened in May. First of all, I got new book covers!! The new covers definitely invigorated my sales numbers. What was looking like a rough month turned around in the last week to be a decent month without a lot of drop in sales despite the fact that I didn't get a new book out yet. The covers were designed by Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. She did an amazing job, and I think the new look has had a great impact on the way people view the series.
The second exciting thing that happened is that I passed 20,000 books sold! That's spread between all three books, but it's still super exciting. I am hoping once Book 4 comes out, I will pass 25,000 books total pretty quickly. So, here are my sales numbers for the month of May:
BEAUTIFUL DEMONS - Book 1 of the PHD series - $0.99 (10/31/10)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 1306 US sales + 35 UK + 0 DE = 1341Barnes & Noble: 254Smashwords: 3Total: 1598INNER DEMONS - Book 2 of the PHD series - $0.99 (12/22/10)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 1071 US sales + 24 UK + 1 DE = 1096Barnes & Noble: 128Smashwords: 5Total: 1229BITTER DEMONS - Book 3 of the PHD series - $2.99 (2/24/11)
Amazon's Kindle Store: 986 US sales + 17 UK sales + 1 DE = 1004Barnes & Noble: 108Smashwords: 5Total: 1117Total April Sales: 3944
Total Self-Publishing Sales Over 7 months: 20,967
The month ended up being only a couple hundred less than April, which I think is great since I haven't had a new release since February. Book 4 in my series will definitely be out in June, so hopefully I should see a burst of sales from that book's release. Then, I am still hoping to release Book 5 by the end of August. I am so anxious to get started with my next series as well. I love writing and the more I write, the more I love what I do. Creating stories is so much fun when you have freedom.
Side Note: I'll be speaking on self-publishing at the local RWA chapter meeting, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, this upcoming Saturday. For more information, visit the HCRW website. If you are local to the Raleigh, NC area, anyone is welcome to attend!
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Jun 06, 2011 04:08PM
Congrats! Passing the 20,000 mark seems exciting. I do have a question--why do some self-publish authors blog about their sells? I've seen some others do it, and I'm really curious as to why.
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What does it cost to self publish? I have been writing for a while and was wondering.
Ashelynn wrote: "Congrats! Passing the 20,000 mark seems exciting. I do have a question--why do some self-publish authors blog about their sells? I've seen some others do it, and I'm really curious as to why."Thanks Ashelynn! I guess I post my sales numbers to keep a record of my journey doing this on my own. Also, when I was getting started, it was encouraging to see other authors who started really small, but ended up really successful. My hope is that someday I can encourage other authors to believe in their own work and strike out on their own.
Melyssa wrote: "What does it cost to self publish? I have been writing for a while and was wondering."Melyssa, basically self-publishing is free. It doesn't cost anything to upload ebooks to Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The only costs come in if you hire someone to do cover art or editing and such. I'm terrible at graphic art, so I had to hire someone, lol. I have a friend who makes her own covers, though, and they are beautiful! I get my editing done through a critique group, so I haven't spend any money on that. Basically, my only cost has been the cover art.
Congrats Sarra! Interesting post and I wish you lots and lots of future sales!
