Dale’s
Comments
(group member since Sep 15, 2017)
Dale’s
comments
from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.
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Carole wrote: "Abducted and left to die in the desert, Leila Sterling wakes up not knowing why she is still alive. Until the archeologist figures out who wants her dead, she's in constant danger. Leila's former..."
I like your introduction of Xander better than mine. I was trying to find a better way of doing that, but nothing was coming to me.
Okay, thanks. Try this on for size:-----
Someone wants her dead.
Abducted and left to die in the desert, archaeologist Leila Sterling wakes up not knowing who her assailant is or why they didn't kill her outright. She only knows she must survive long enough to find out. Leila's flame, archaeologist-turned-policeman Xander Harrison, desperately searches for his woman, knowing the shadowy killer will strike again.
The separated lovers each find themselves in a brutal race for survival. From a remnant of an ancient hieroglyphic text to whispers of a legendary lost tomb in the Sinai mountains, from the glistening waves of the Nile to the swaying saddle of a camel, Leila and Xander are thrown into a web of conspiracy, revenge, and deception. Will they ever be reunited, or will the shocking discovery of one of the greatest mysteries of the past destroy Leila and the man she loves?
-----
There may be room for further improvement, but with luck this captures it.
JL wrote: "Hi! I am working on my first YA fantasy novel. I hope to have it done in Aug 2022. What projects are you all working on?"
Welcome to the group! I've been writing a long time myself and have just published my fifth novel and have a couple more in the works.
It's not bad, but it could probably be a bit sharper. Before I offer any concrete suggestions, though, I have a question. You say Leila is "trying to escape an assasin" and "wakes up in the middle of the desert." Does she know, before finding herself stranded in the desert, that someone is trying to kill her, or is it because she wakes up in the middle of the desert that she knows this? And does she wake up there because she's been dumped there to die, or for some other reason?
"Solve This" part 7 has been published. This is the final installment. If you've been waiting to read it until the whole thing is available, now's the time. Thank you!
Carole wrote: "It was informative and covered a lot of ways to get reviews. I liked the way he stressed that asking for review exchanges is a no-no. A lot of authors come on threads and ask for that. When I bega..."
Thanks for the detailed insights, Carole. You're probably right that controversy helps sell and gains comments, but I think there is also a tendency for fewer people to read book 2 than book 1. I've noticed the "diminishing returns" on my sales of my Howard County books. I don't have a ton of reviews on any of them, but book 1 has the most, book 2 fewer, and book 3 fewer still. As I recall, the rankings also reflect that tendency.
By the by, I'm giving Booksprout a try. Anyone ever use that?
Anita wrote: "Great article and very timely for me. I have a new book that hopefully will be published by early June. I am already setting up my launch promos. Thanks for posting."You're quite welcome!
You're quite welcome, all. I'd be interested in your takes on it.
I ran across this very interesting article on getting Amazon reviews, what they are good for, and why they probably are not half as important as we tend to think. It may help you with getting reviews . . . and with not driving yourself nuts over it if you don't have that many.
Anna wrote: "Thanks, Sam. It was a long time ago, and I'm really saying to Dale to make sure he captures an image of his success."Which reminds me of the time I was almost millionaire for a day. The company I worked for made a small mistake in the payroll and paid me $3 million dollars gross, $1.5 million net, in one paycheck. They found the error and the direct deposit never actually hit the bank, but I did keep a copy of the stub for a short time.
Anna wrote: "One of my books ousted a real best seller at #1 in its category and stayed there for a week or so and it gained a best seller banner. That was a big lift, but then a week or two later, as it slippe..."Looks like I won't this time. The ranking has been gradually slipping today. But I do have a "book blitz" coming up first week of April, so that may give it a boost. I heard today from the organizer that they have 12 confirmed hosts so far.
Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger) wrote: "Awesome stats, Dale! Like Anna, we have fingers, toes, and tails crossed for you. Hugs"Thank you!
Anna wrote: "Fingers and toes crossed here too, Dale."Thanks, Anna!
At the end of the day, it had reached what I consider an incredibly high ranking:
Best Sellers Rank: #22,107 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
#136 in Heist Crime
#180 in Heist Thrillers
#340 in General Humorous Fiction
It's a bit lower this morning, but I suppose that's to be expected. We'll see if it continues to slide today or if it rebounds. It would be great if it could slip above #100 in at least one category; then I can call myself a bestselling author. ;-)
Although I'm as leery of that designation as anyone. I was reading the other day that one author rather famously got himself a "bestseller" designation by self-publishing a "book" that consisted of nothing but a photo of his foot and listing it in a category that had only 2 other titles assigned to it. He sold 3 copies and beat out the other 2 titles. Of course, he wasn't doing it to actually claim he had a bestseller. He did it to demonstrate how unreliable the term could be.
Still, there are certainly many thousands of titles in the "heist crime" category, so #136 ain't half bad!
Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger) wrote: "Congratulations, Dale! Wishing you the best of success! Hugs!"Thank you!
I should probably mention what I did to give it a kick. I've been posting semi-relentlessly on my social media, got it into a group promo on StoryOrigin, paid to boost my day-before-release post on FB (I only threw $30 at it, so not a great deal), and put it in a BargainBooksy promo for release date. Plus, it's got a really cool cover. ;-)
Fingers crossed that I'll make back the investment for a change...
Weasel Words started shipping today, and it looks like it's getting some traction. This morning, it's Amazon ranking in the "Heist Crime" category was just above 1,100. I just checked again and it's risen to 218. I don't know what that means in terms of actual sales, but I suspect it's good news. By the by, if you read it (and for $0.99 in ebook format, why wouldn't you?), I'd appreciate an honest review. Thank you!
Well. Weirdly, Xpresso told me their bloggers are mostly into YA and 18+ romance, not so much crime fiction. So they recommend I go with someone else. I appreciate the honesty, but I thought they were accepting all genres. Anyway, I'll be going with R&R Book Tours instead and will let you now how that goes. We're currently looking at the first week in March.
I haven't hired a publicist, but I've submitted Weasel Words for a "Book Blitz" with Xpresso Book Tours. It's my first time using them, and only my second time trying a tour package. I'll post results when I know them, assuming I can figure them out. I'm also running a BargainBooksy promo on release date, 2/15/2021 (next Sunday). I know I've gotten a few advance orders from my own promo activities, but as I go through IngramSpark, I can't get sales figures until a couple of months after the fact.
Cate wrote: "I agree, the prices are outrageous. I don't blame anyone for opting for the free ISBNs. The German agency charges 150 Euros for 10, so still not cheap but if you think about it as 15 Euros ($17) pe..."Yeah. we bought 100 when we were publishing other people's books, which worked out to $5.75 each, as I recall, but of course you have to have plans to publish enough books to justify buying that many.
