2018: Year in Review
From an author's perspective, 2018 was another year of mixed results.
In April, I released "The Third Option", my 6th novel, and have been pleased with the feedback I've received on the book. However, sales were slow and I've only sold 44 copies to date.
Since this was the third and final book in The Goliath Trilogy, I decided (after asking for advice from other authors here on Goodreads) to create a new publication combining all three books. I was hoping to have both the Kindle and paperback versions available for Christmas but only managed to get the Kindle version ready in time. (The paperback proof copy decided to take a tour of several provinces thanks to the postal service even though it only had to come straight north from California to British Columbia.)
I ran a Boxing Week promotion for the Kindle version of the trilogy where it was priced at 99 cents (normally $6.95). I even ran a Facebook promotion where I specifically targeted Kindle users in the United States which resulted in zero sales. The only sales I made were in Canada and the U.K. which proves, once again, that I am terrible at marketing.
On the plus side, my 2016 novel "The Back Nine" continues to sell every month even though I rarely do any marketing for it.
During the year, I sold about $700 worth of books personally, got another $350 in royalties for sales made online, and ended up making a profit of about $450.
I recently read an article from the CBC which reported that the average Canadian writer makes $9,380 a year, down 27% from the results from three years ago and down a whopping 78% from the results in 1998. If you want get rich, don't become a writer.
I guess I shouldn't complain as I don't write full-time so anything in the black should be considered a good thing.
Although I rarely give away books for free, I've decided to stop the free promotions of the Kindle versions of my books entirely. When I released "The Third Option", it was suggested that I give away copies of the first two books in the series to stimulate sales of the third book. I ran a 5-day promotion doing just that, and even dropped the price of the third book to 99 cents. People snatched up copies of the free books and didn't buy any copies (not one) of the third book.
So what's planned for 2019? I expect to release the paperback version of The Goliath Trilogy in January.
I've also started a new book called "Choices". It's a story about a guy who goes to the 50th anniversary reunion of his university graduating class which takes place in a Las Vegas nightclub called "Choices". He discovers that this is not your typical nightclub as he gets to re-think some of the choices he's made over the last fifty years. What if life offered you a do-over? Would you take it?
I'm hoping to have the new book released by the end of 2019.
In April, I released "The Third Option", my 6th novel, and have been pleased with the feedback I've received on the book. However, sales were slow and I've only sold 44 copies to date.
Since this was the third and final book in The Goliath Trilogy, I decided (after asking for advice from other authors here on Goodreads) to create a new publication combining all three books. I was hoping to have both the Kindle and paperback versions available for Christmas but only managed to get the Kindle version ready in time. (The paperback proof copy decided to take a tour of several provinces thanks to the postal service even though it only had to come straight north from California to British Columbia.)
I ran a Boxing Week promotion for the Kindle version of the trilogy where it was priced at 99 cents (normally $6.95). I even ran a Facebook promotion where I specifically targeted Kindle users in the United States which resulted in zero sales. The only sales I made were in Canada and the U.K. which proves, once again, that I am terrible at marketing.
On the plus side, my 2016 novel "The Back Nine" continues to sell every month even though I rarely do any marketing for it.
During the year, I sold about $700 worth of books personally, got another $350 in royalties for sales made online, and ended up making a profit of about $450.
I recently read an article from the CBC which reported that the average Canadian writer makes $9,380 a year, down 27% from the results from three years ago and down a whopping 78% from the results in 1998. If you want get rich, don't become a writer.
I guess I shouldn't complain as I don't write full-time so anything in the black should be considered a good thing.
Although I rarely give away books for free, I've decided to stop the free promotions of the Kindle versions of my books entirely. When I released "The Third Option", it was suggested that I give away copies of the first two books in the series to stimulate sales of the third book. I ran a 5-day promotion doing just that, and even dropped the price of the third book to 99 cents. People snatched up copies of the free books and didn't buy any copies (not one) of the third book.
So what's planned for 2019? I expect to release the paperback version of The Goliath Trilogy in January.
I've also started a new book called "Choices". It's a story about a guy who goes to the 50th anniversary reunion of his university graduating class which takes place in a Las Vegas nightclub called "Choices". He discovers that this is not your typical nightclub as he gets to re-think some of the choices he's made over the last fifty years. What if life offered you a do-over? Would you take it?
I'm hoping to have the new book released by the end of 2019.
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