World, Writing, Wealth discussion
Wealth & Economics
>
When do you consider yourself successful?
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Hannah
(new)
Aug 21, 2016 04:59PM
When do you consider yourself successful as an indie author? When you earn $100---$500---even $1000? Do you market your books? How?
reply
|
flag
First things first...*waves happily*
Nice to meet ya, Miss Hannah! And great question!! To which I have no good answer hahaha!
Personally, I like the challenge of doing better than yesterday. And I also think in exponents of 10. Have always been like this. No clue why *shrugs* But if you can get 5 readers, I reckon you can get 50. If you can get 50, I figure 500 ain't a problem. And so on.
As for marketing, just started venturing into book review blogs recently with pretty great results. Shall also experiment with promos soon ^_^
Hugs,
Ann
I think what counts as success is a highly personal thing, and I would encourage all writers to think about what success looks like to them. And it's not always about $$.I keep redefining success as I go through this writing journey. For me, success at first was getting to "The End" on that first novel. Then success was holding a paperback copy of my own book in my hands and seeing it on my local library bookshelf. Now, I would count as outrageous success simply to break even in terms of costs to produce a book versus income. Meanwhile I feel success every time someone leaves a good review or asks me when I'm publishing the next book because they want to read it.
Annie wrote: "And great question!! To which I have no good answer"
Wait! What? But ... but ... Annie always has a good answer to everything!
*Dangles extra large chocolate chip cookie hoping to lure the real Annie out of hiding*
I suppose that, as an indie author, you can consider yourself successful when people start to learn about your books by word of mouth. This could still mean a rather limited number of readers, but to attract attention without any publicizing or marketing on your part must be considered as a success.
Ian wrote: "Wait! What? But ... but ... Annie always has a good answer to everything!"Hey! Don't make me sound like a know-it-all butthead! Even if I am one ^_~
And that won't work. Unless it's a thick, freshly-baked, ooey gooey white chocolate macadamia cookie...
*drools on self*
@Miss Hannah: How do you define success for yourself?
Hugs,
Ann
Hannah wrote: "When do you consider yourself successful as an indie author? When you earn $100---$500---even $1000? Do you market your books? How?"very good question.
I believe that author success falls into the following general categories:
1. Publish only for yourself, friends and family.
Success = $0. you don't need to market your books.2. Make a side income as a second job or supplement retirement income.
Success = Less than full-time writing. you have to market your books.3. Write full-time.
Success = at least enough to live on and save for retirement. you have to market your books.like Ann, the "know-it-all butthead" said in another post, you should set goals for yourself. you can find her buttheadedness in all its glory in this quite recent thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
we have a spreadsheet, in which we list author resources, including marketing. It's in https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... i'm in the process of updating today. in our "writing" bookshelf we also list marketing books. i another post, Alexa reminded me about the smashwords marketing book, which i just added to our "writing" bookshelf.
Annie wrote: "Unless it's a thick, freshly-baked, ooey gooey white chocolate macadamia cookie"*Adds mind-reading to Annie's endless list of awesome talents*
Like Ian intimated, success is a moving target as I grow and get better at this. But hitting the 'publish' button for the first time was really it for me. It separated me from the millions of people who dream about writing a book but never do it.
Good question Annie! I published a book last year under a pen name. It did okay, but it was what I thought readers would want, and not something I liked very much. Success to me is publishing a book I'm proud of and getting some good reviews.
@Miss Hannah: I'm with you on the reviews! Don't get me wrong, I'm ALL for sales and shizz but...Reviews give me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside haha!
I'm glad you stuck to your guns this time. I'm in a bit of a "way-out-there" niche too sooo...
*fist bump**hugs**good vibes*
Thanks Annie! I think I have ADD. LOL. I'll be writing one book while my mind is already writing another. I just wish my fingers could keep up! LOL
OMG, Miss Hannah!! Sooo I'm writing book 2, eh? Totally got distracted and have written over 10,000 words for book 4. Annnd, some random scenes for book 5 which...I'm not even sure I'll write yet LMAO!!
#GreatMinds ^_~
Okay, I'm gonna stop vomiting on your thread now. Sorry! Carry on, folks!! Haha!
Alex G, I think I live a double life. My friends and family have no idea I write books. Every review is legit!
Hannah wrote: "Good question Annie! I published a book last year under a pen name. It did okay, but it was what I thought readers would want, and not something I liked very much. Success to me is publishing a boo..."you got 5 books out so that's very good. i like the cover of Jakke--is it that hot under the covers?
Thomai wrote: "I like Alex's thoughts on success being individualized and self-defined. For me, I had a few successful moments:
1. When my toddler read my book and liked it
2. When I held a tangible copy of my b..."
3. When I realized I had a sale after I knew all of my friends and family had their own copies"
that is so great! especially #1!
i thought my zombie short story was pretty successful when my daughter and my boss (at different times) said it was gross.
seriously, though, i guess i didn't really answer the OP's question.
well, i have a successful career as a tech writer, but i'd like to write fiction full-time, but it's incremental. so, i'd feel successful if i made a positive cash flow on publishing my first book.
Alex G wrote: "you got 5 books out so that's very good. i like the cover of Jakke--is it that hot under the covers?"oh, man. that's a pretty good ranking. congratulations!
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,563 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#20 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > First Contact
#30 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > First Contact
#37 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Alien Invasion
So, we have now an author Hannah Davenport and 'Davenport house' series by Marie Silk. Got me confused for a sec there -:) After Marie described how your house was 100 years ago, it's only natural to greet you here-:) Welcome!I agree with much of the above definitions. They are personal and 'small' successes.
But there is an undisputed (non-personal) success, which is big sales, high places in sales ratings and so on. 100K income in sales? Occupying the best selling place on the entire list for some time?
After having some small successes, like actually accomplishing a book, seeing it through till publication, having some good reviews, if in a few years the books remain where they are now, I'm not sure I'll see the process as success of any kind in retrospective
One can never keep up with amazon ratings. They always fall regardless of how many copies sold or good reviews received.
Alex G wrote: "Alex G wrote: "you got 5 books out so that's very good. i like the cover of Jakke--is it that hot under the covers?"oh, man. that's a pretty good ranking. congratulations!
Amazon Best Sellers R..."
Thanks, but I don't know how long it will last. LOL. To answer your first question, I'm not an erotica writer if that's what you're asking. I found someone on Fiverr.com that makes my book covers for $15. (That's all I have invested in Jakke.) In the past, I've advertised, but now I believe that it's the book cover that draws readers in. It's an experiment and I'm still learning...
Nik wrote: "So, we have now an author Hannah Davenport and 'Davenport house' series by Marie Silk. Got me confused for a sec there -:) After Marie described how your house was 100 years ago, it's only natural ..."Thanks! I wouldn't have found this group if you hadn't invited me, so thank you.
Woooweeee, Miss Hannah!! Your rankings...*humbly bows down*
Freakin' amazeballs!!!
EDIT: Oops! Can't spell haha
Welcome Hannah :) your books are performing beautifully! Well done!For me, the feeling of success has come in stages. I felt successful when something that I wrote became an actual ebook and paperback! Getting some good reviews was icing on the cake. Then last month I started getting actual fan mail. I did not see that coming at all. But I am starting to feel more author-y than ever before (I even made a website this week!), and I think that feeling good about our stories being out there, in itself, counts as success. The rest of it is a bonus.
I use Facebook groups and a couple tweets a day for marketing, as well as KDP free promotions in conjunction with ebook marketing sites.
Do you mind sharing how you have been marketing your books? I'm always up for marketing advice! :)
Marie, this is all new to me and I don't want to appear like I'm bragging, believe me, I'm not. When I wrote Trying to Survive, it was for PCD awareness month. I advertised with Amazon and that was it. Rankings were okay and I probably made $100. I got my money back from advertising but the cover cost that much. I advertised on Goodreads but it didn't really help. I wrote the second one, Finding Megan. I'm getting ahead of myself. I started Ambriel with a friend and she was so slow that I wrote these other two while waiting on her. LOL. I finally told her I would just do it. It was my story and I didn't like most of what she added.Ambriel did okay, but it was the same, $50 - $100. I went back to my love of aliens. (I read them the most.) I got someone to do the cover ($15) and uploaded it the day before my kids got out od school. I'd (tried) to set up a web address and Twitter account. ..no Facebook. My friends and family has no idea I write books. I honestly thought, this is it. I'm not writing anymore until fall...if then. I posted my new book on twitter and let it go. Within three weeks, Jakke was ranked 207 in the Kindle Store and best seller in first contact. I don't know how or why, and I refuse to believe this will happen with every book. I just don't normally have that kind of luck.
Sorry if there are typos...I'm replying from my phone.
That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing! Your twitter post must have made some serious waves :).
Oh can you provide more details so that we can use your experience as a case study? Like a rough timelines for your release and marketing activities? When did you release and when did you tweet? To whom and how many times?Of course, it's your proprietary data so you have no obligation to share.
That's it? Just Twitter? Do you have an Amazon profile?
I think I released Jakke on June 9th. A few days later I decided to tweet, once in the morning and then once of evening. When I noticed some books on twitter every hour or two, I decided I'd tweet my book (with picture) every two hours. I went with simple hashtags. PNR, paranormal, kindleunlimited...you get the idea. With the next book, I did pay one of those twitter promoters SPS (I think) to tweet for me. $15 for a months and they tweet for you every two hours. If this helps then great. I'm on pins a needles about this. These books are successful, do I consider myself a successful writer when it comes to money, I'll wait and see what the next book does before I decide that. I'm still learning.Oh, I did set up an Amazon Author profile. I've felt I needed to do something, but I rarely check anything besides my email, which I have listed in the back of my books.
Thx so much! So how many days did you tweet every 2 hrs? Are you still doing it? Hopefully not; otherwise, you might get carpal.
I don't know, maybe two weeks? When my book started showing up in the top ten in the search column of people who read this also read these...well I figured it was advertisement enough.
Well...The day I finished the first draft of my first novel, I felt successful. Because I actually wrote a book, beginning to end.
The day I finally published my first novel, I felt successful. Because I actually saw the project through to completion.
The day I got my first sale, I felt successful. Because someone decided they wanted to read my words without mooching them off me first.
The day I got my first positive review, I felt successful. Because someone enjoyed what I wrote.
The day I got my first negative review, I felt successful. Because I knew, even then, that not everyone was going to like my book.
The day I published my second novel, I felt successful. Because I managed to do it all again. The first time wasn't a fluke.
The first time a Twitter follower asked me when my next book would be out, I felt successful. Because someone was invested enough in my work to want more of it.
Now, ALL OF THAT said...
It would be downright LOVELY if I could make enough to write novels for a living. What a wonderful, momentous day that would be. But if I don't get there, I still feel successful.
J.D. wrote: "Well...The day I finished the first draft of my first novel, I felt successful. Because I actually wrote a book, beginning to end.
The day I finally published my first novel, I felt successful. ..."
I understand! I actually started hoping I didn't get reviews, because good reviews made me feel successful, but bad reviews...well, I don't have a hard outer shell. Then I remembered reading an interview from a famous author, and she said she didn't look at reviews. Then I thought, good or bad, they bought it.
J.D. wrote: "Now, ALL OF THAT said...It would be downright LOVELY if I could make enough to write novels for a living. ..."
I like positive approach -:)
Hannah, very well done with your achievements!I think yours is a good example when the success (and I argue - it is) is 'unexplainable'.
My own intuition tells me that first few days on Amazon may be crucial and if you are lucky to attract five-six buyers with your book right at the beginning, then you rating rises dramatically and you might get into 'hot new releases' list and so on. And it's self-feeding for a while. Just my thoughts...
For me, readers' ratings of my novels is probably a more accurate indicator of success than the volume of downloads, as I offer my novels for free online, without passing by a publishing house. I don't know how much of a factor being a free book affects downloads, compared to a book with a price, but numerous good ratings (4-5 stars) certainly are encouraging for me, along with reviews with words of praise (along with the seemingly inevitable sour grapes here and there).
Yeah, a personal definition of success is not a constant. At first a sensual kiss may be a success, if I remember those times-:)But then the appetite grows or ... shrinks depending on the circumstances.
Hope your new successes are underway and everyone deserves that feeling. Not everything depends on us, but what does we might as well try it
