World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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GoodReads Giveaway - Resurrection of the Scrolls Dec 14th-Jan 14th
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Favor returned! Just purchased "After and Again"
Thank you!

I know it resulted in 1 sale thanks to Michael (above), maybe more. But it definitely increased visibility so I will be doing more giveaways in the future.

When you say it increased visibility, any idea how that translates into sales?

Joanna - Thank you but its not really awe inspiring. Im not selling that many books. I dont know if there's a statistical way to correlate visibility and sales. I think the giveaway is more about branding than marketing (sales). Before you can make sales, people have to be familiar with your brand. And as the old marketing adage goes, people have to see something 7 times before they will act. So a giveaway is just 1 of those 7 times.
Ive tweeted and facebooked about my novel relentlessly. And now I am moving towards marketing it directly to more readers. Most of my followers are not hardcore readers.
Ive done a Bargain Booksy paid email blast and a Choosy Bookworm one. I have a signing coming up on Friday. I tweeted about the signing and so far that tweet as gotten 33,843 impressions with a engagement of 659 people. Its my most viewed tweet ever. I have purchased 12 books to sell and I hope I can sell them all.
On the 25th I have another email blast coming out on Kindle Free Review and on the 1st, Fussy Librarian.
I have two more libraries in Canada that want the book thanks to one of my beta-readers. So now I will be in libraries in the US and Canada.
I dont expect to sell that many copies of my first novel but Im going to keep knocking at that door until it opens. It may take 3-4-even 5 books before I can see real sales. Or it may never happen.
Persistence is the key. Before going to law school, I sold new cars. Sometimes you make a sale, often you dont. But every time someone walks onto your lot, you smile, you greet them and you get to selling.

No wonder John Steinbeck told his publisher: "I'll write it. You sell it."

Thank you for the kind words. But Im not a good writer, but I can sell. I built a small boutique firm, not on my ability as a lawyer, but rather my ability to sell.
I gave a copy to another lawyer friend yesterday and he used the words "literary fiction" in regards to my book. I stopped him. I said the word "literary" and my book should never be used in the same sentence.
I think selling books is one of the hardest thing you can sell. Its not a product that has a use. Its not a service that is needed. Its entertainment.
As an author you really arent even selling. You are buying a reader's time as a writer. Im asking readers to give me 6-10 hours of their life to read my book and $2.99. Im honored when anyone buys my book. Even more so when they take the time to post a review.

I've given away 5 books over 3 giveaways.
The first four books have been delivered. It looks like I will get two reviews from those four books. From that small sample, my hit rate for reviews has been great.
I have not been able to identify a single sale related to a giveaway. I have a suspicion that if someone keeps entering the giveaways and the numbers of entrants keeps growing and given the low price barrier on my first book (0.99) they might give up and buy the book. :-).
Like you - I see it as a visibility/branding activity. I have just ordered another 10 paperbacks. They will keep me going another 10 months. It will be interesting to see what happens when I start running alternating giveaways for my second book in parallel with the first.

I know it resulted in 1 sale thanks to Michael (above), maybe more. But it definitely increased ..."
Great results, Michael!

http://authoritypublishing.com/book-m...
I was kinda lost what to write though...
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
A historical thriller tracing one family’s thousand-year journey from the Norman conquest of Italy through the First Crusade, their rise in power in Ravello, to their relationship with the Vatican to modern day America. It exposes one of church’s best-kept secrets that, if revealed, could shake the Vatican to its core and destroy the Catholic faith.
Thank you for entering!