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Free sample downloads at SW not turning into sales.
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Katie
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Jun 29, 2012 10:08PM
As I've said before, I don't get many sales at Smashwords, or any of the retail outlets they send to. Since I put Treespeaker on there, I've had only 148 'sales', most of those going in free promotions. But I've had 219 downloads, meaning that over 60 people have downloaded the free sample but not bothered to buy. Is that normal, or is it an indication that the beginning of Treespeaker is woeful and I need to do something about it?
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Treespeaker is only 99c at the moment - incentive to me to get the sequel finished so I can put the price back up (it's not working). But I still don't get any sales. I nearly threw a party the other day when I got one on B&N. I only know that because I saw the ranking had gone down by half. On the other hand I've sold 30 copies of TS on Amazon this month - a record. Ah well, I'll plug on with the sequel and see what effect that has.
I think you need a series for free to work. I currently have a 1 in 20 sales rate for sequels of the free Shards book. Dawn is about 1 in 10, maybe as it's more continued. Being unwell has slowed things down and I have not been pushing the books, so only 16 sales on Amazon this month - all sequels to the free promo. No other sales. Back when I started there everything was moving well, but then I was afk for weeks. Will have to build up again.
But mostly I want to bring out the next series.
B&N has dropped off quite a bit. Not sure why, aside from not being around much.
EDIT: got the ratios wrong. lol.
Oh. I do find that I get a Part #3 Shards sale for every part #2 sale. So once they get in the series, all is well. lol.
And currently it looks like about 1 in 40 ratio on smashwords and 1 in 50 on Amazon, but there can be a big delay between the free copy and the subsequent sale. Makes it hard to get a month by month idea.
I've achieved very little on Smashwords - constant but minimal sales, regardless of the ups & downs of my Amazon stats.
I'm having an opposite experience here. I made 11 dollars in the last six months with Amazon, yet on Smashwords, counting retailer affiliates, I've made almost $200 in the same time frame. That was with minimal promotions though, I've been busy writing my arse off. Somebody told me to do Kindle boards if I want to see better results at Amazon. I've been on so many forums before only to see the community shark hunt authors, I'm not really up for another round of being mistreated because I think people who like sci-fi/fantasy might like to see what I've written.
I recently put efforts into advertising, I won't know how those turn out yet. At least, not until next quarter when the current sales from this time period are reported.
Mod
ROBUST was founded in part to have a place to say what you can't say on the Kindleboards, but many of us are on the Kindleboards as well and perfectly happy to be there. I believe that the Kindleboards sell books for you, and it is also a place where there are people who read my sort of books, and whose recommendations I therefore trust. I've made quite a few good friends there. Harvey, who owns the place, and the mods, work very hard to ensure that writers have an absolutely brilliant showcase for their books on the Kindleboards.
I have never been near the kindleboards but sales on Amazon have still been much better than Smashwords for the same period... at least initially. Once I went AWOL everything slowed down, so Amazon has been very up and down. Smashwords has meanwhile trickled happily along.
Well Andre, you devoted 167 words talking positively about a forum. I've never known you to lead a soul astray in the realm of writing, so sometime tomorrow I will lurk the board, probably make an account and start posting. I've never broken a board rule yet, I won't start there, that I can promise. If there's a place I can self promote a touch, I'll do so. I'll have a good base to measure from, as in the last six weeks, as of a few hours ago, I only sold one ebook off Amazon, LOL. If after I post and that changes, I may very well become a believer. ^_^
Thank you for the heads up.
Mod
This will be most interesting because you have a baseline to measure against. Please do report back on the experience.
Will do, Andre. The clock just started ticking. I made the first promo post where it belongs. We'll see what happens afterwards. :)
Kindleboards is like sitting with a load of strangers at a wedding just as the first glass of wine is poured. Everyone is happy, and there for the same reason, but social formalities have to be observed.Robust is the same table five hours later, when the gentlemen have taken off their ties , the ladies their uncomfortable shoes, and wine has been replaced by brandy.
Hmmm, not sure if I like that analogy, James. I'm an introvert. By that stage of the evening, I'm usually sitting in a corner, wishing everybody would just go the **** away!
Interesting. I've been told that the introvert/extrovert thing reverses when people get *really* drunk: the normal extroverts are weeping into their Mojitos, whilst the introverts are dancing like fools to Love Shack...Not sure if that works 100% but I've definitely seen examples.
Maybe that's the problem - I've never been that drunk! :)
Mod
Robust is the same table five hours later, when the gentlemen have taken off their ties , the ladies their uncomfortable shoes, and wine has been replaced by brandy."
This is a wonderful analogy, James. Have you considered becoming a writer?
Mod
Try it at home first. Some introverts become aggressive when drink is taken, as we say here when we mean a pissup that gets out of hand.
Andre Jute wrote: "Katie wrote: "Maybe that's the problem - I've never been that drunk! :)"Try it at home first. Some introverts become aggressive when drink is taken, as we say here when we mean a pissup that gets..."
Not everyone is as Irish as we be.
When I was a sweet, young thing unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol, I had a drink while on a job interview that was held in a restaurant/bar. At some point I was aware of a woman laughing loudly, then aghast to realize it was moi. I'd kicked off my shoes and had my legs curled up on the banquette. Regardless, I got the job.
After 3 years on Smashwords I have a balance of $18.91 - I'm thinking I might get a payment from them in another year. I got most of that from B&N sales of Impressive Bravado after 6 months of it being free. I'm hoping that 'Swallow the Moon' will do the same. However, I'm not holding my breath. The book was only free there for a few weeks.
What happened with the Bula library?
Hopefully I will be able to get back into full swing soon. It took about 10 months to get $300 on Smashwords and I sold almost that much on Amazon after just 2 months. Of course both have dropped right off to a trickle since I've been unwell. I need to get back to promoting, but first I really want to get the next series out (before something else happens to me. lol)
That's what I like to hear, writers thinking in series, not just books!
Patricia wrote: "What happened with the Bula library?"I got a few choice pieces of information. I was able to get my hands on a report that appeared to be THE first hand account. I scanned it to a PDF so I can read it later. The paper was brown with age and parts seemed to be done with carbon paper.
I did more scanning than reading. I know I'll have to go back in August because I have a book signing. Should be fun!
I'm confused. I thought you were going to the library to see if they would put your books on the shelf. You went there for research? Apparently I missed a whole section of this chapter.
Patricia wrote: "When I was a sweet, young thing unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol, I had a drink while on a job interview that was held in a restaurant/bar. At some point I was aware of a woman laughing loudl..."Kench!
Once or twice I had a drink at lunch while on the job. One drink, wasted for the afternoon, never did it again.
Love it that you got the job! You must be good, Patricia! (but then we already knew that).
Patricia wrote: "I'm confused. I thought you were going to the library to see if they would put your books on the shelf. You went there for research? Apparently I missed a whole section of this chapter."Oh - well - I chickened out because I didn't have a copy of 'Swallow the Moon' to leave them. If the books had come in, I would have given it a shot. But without books to back it up...I felt weird about it.
I did get a gig for the Wine and Walleye Festival at the local Psychic shop. They will do a book signing for me. I'm thrilled about that.
Did you ask them what they see in the future?
No, mostly I told them the names of the ghosts in the different buildings.
I don't know much about psychics. I do know who's a real mind reader or not. I used to test all the hot looking lady mind readers in Vegas, way back in the day. Without visibly looking interested, I would be running them through several bedroom positions in my mind for their whole performance. And I do have a wicked imagination. Not a single one blushed or slapped me. If one ever did, I would have funded her act all over the united states and got insanely rich. Alas... it was never meant to be. *sniff sniff*
(I really miss the old days when I had more than 7 bucks in my bank account!)
Well - it wasn't that complicated. Al and Aggie Shalamon lived in her building. Al was a cook (the ghostly man in the white jacket.) Aggie was the woman with long hair who was upstairs in the apartment where they both lived.
Easy Peazy.
Daniel, you sly fox, you.K.A., do you believe in ghosts? I'll admit it: I do. Sort of.
I grew up in a haunted house. It's hard not to believe when you hear your father walking up the stairs every night for years after he passed.
He let his presence be known when it suited him.
I hated the stairs in that house. I wouldn't go up or down them at night if I was alone.
I think you meant "wouldn't" go up or down them, right?I've had some ghostly experiences that are just too weird to describe.
There is definately something else going on. I don't know if it's 'electromagnetic residue' or a lingering spirit. But it certainly FELT like a lingerin spirit when I was a kid.
I can't wait for Andre to show up and laugh at us.
Mod
I met Dr Rhine, the parapsychologist at Duke, when i was a student on my grand tour of American educational institutions by Greyhound bus.
Folks, all joking aside... ignorance is bliss when it comes to the unseen. I envy anyone who has a choice to believe or not. Truly. If you can sit there and tell yourself, "I think they exist." or "Bah, they're making it up." Either or and in between, be glad. Be very very glad. However you feel about the subject, just be grateful. You could be in my shoes. I have no choice but to believe. None. That process was stolen from me. All I had to do was help battle an unclean inhuman spirit. It wasn't an easy fight. It lasted for months. Everyone involved, including a few skeptics who was calling us bullshitters, ended up apologizing not even 5 minutes into the next confrontation. Four people in the room, five shadows. The fifth shadow wrestled my friend, actually bruised him down the entire left side of his body. Yeah, that ugly.I kid you not. If you want to have your own choice taken away forever, locate a legitimate demonologist and volunteer to help on a next confirmed case. Sign the liability paperwork, the ones that says you attend at your own risk. Then go. My ignorant bliss ended on May of 1999. I volunteered for four cases. I stopped after that, because I couldn't handle the threat of being followed home by an unseen vile spirit anymore. I had kids growing up, they didn't need to suffer what I've seen in other homes.
Be glad you can choose to believe or not. I mean that with all my fiber. And no, I won't write about it. I prefer fiction.
I have friends who are "ghost-hunters" when they ask me to come I tell them NO WAY - 'stuff' DOES follow you home. Daniel - It amazes me that the very people who speak the strongest about the existance of God don't believe the 'other side' exists.
Still - I can't help but write about it. If that's what readers want - I can give them some chills. (bawhhahahahaha!)
You should work where I work, Kat. The school library and office area is in what used to be a house belonging to a famous local family. The head of the family was killed falling down the stairs into the kitchen. The stairs aren't there any more though. During the war, the house was used as a hospital and the rooms downstairs, now used as IT office and uniform shop (we call it 'The Dungeon') were used as the morgue. Nothing sinister has ever happened, but things definitely move, lights turn on when no one is near the switch - all that sort of thing. I wouldn't like to be there on my own at night.
K.A. - All too true. I've met my fair share. I've also prayed for them. As such, it's the best I can do. The reason why I can't write about it is due to the nightmares that come back. Intense is an understatement. Katie - Don't be too afraid of the ones who are active at night. They do so because they distance themselves from living people on purpose. The ones you need to worry about show up at 1:00pm to drag one of your friends/family/team up the wall by their hair.
My goodness, what a convo to wake up to!Kat said:”...Daniel - It amazes me that the very people who speak the strongest about the existance of God don't believe the 'other side' exists...”
Count me in as the former. I believe strongly in the existence of God, but not as something in any way shape or form in a human fashion. GOD is an IT, not a HE. God is Spirit, the Universe, Source, whateveryouwanttocallit. God is even evil if you believe in such a thing. God is in us and IS us, and we are in God and are God. THAT is what all the prophets were trying to teach us. But the concept is foreign for us because 'modern' patriarchal religion taught us to fear God as some being who punished us if we did not believe the way they told us to.
It is a privilege to live on this planet of learning and free will. You always have a choice. You can choose to be enlightened or you can choose to live in darkness. It is your choice.
Science is just now ‘proving’ the existence of the field of God, and more and more learning the how of IT. It is always your choice to believe the science or any philosophy if you so choose.
Serendipitously I ran across this article just prior to checking out ROBUST: http://yhoo.it/LVqZsy
I do believe there could be energies among us who are not human. But I don’t believe they are here to harm us or take us over, it’s not in my nature to go to the dark side. I believe we can all exist on many levels at the same time if we wish to, so we may be a foreign visitor on some other level at any given time. That is my choice to believe.
A few years ago I was at the beach when I saw a native lad sitting on a blanket, with a bit of a crowd gathered around him. I’ve always been drawn to our First Nations folk so I strolled over to have a look-see. Turned out he was doing ‘readings’. After determining he would be there the next day, I called a friend I knew would be interested. This friend had told me several times she had seen pure evil. I always argued the existence of evil was against the laws of nature and there was no such thing but she always insisted. She came in the next day and we headed to the beach. We booked a reading and when our time came she got yakking with the shaman and I sat back and let her have her day. This friend always had an idea she was uber-enlightened and when the shaman said something to the effect that he could see she was connected she puffed out her chest. She was first up for her reading. I had brought my mini-recorder and was content to record and listen. They blathered on about how she needed protection, yada yada.
When they were done he looked up at me for the first time. I saw surprise and recognition in his eyes. He said something to the effect that I was very connected too. I don’t recall what he said at my reading other than he didn’t have to offer protection for me and I was going to make a mark in the world. I said, duh, I don’t need protection, I don’t believe in evil.
I was shocked when about a year ago my friend, who was teaching a class on energy healing (I was there for support), said, as if she’d invented the concept, there is no such thing as evil. I had no idea she had come over to that belief. I suppose she had to hear it from someone in authority, probably one of her instructors in energy healing. She is, by the bye, a very talented healer (and teacher, something she longs to do).
We get back what we choose to believe. Life is all an illusion anyway...
Okay Sharon - I won't argue with you. For all I know you are safe because you don't believe in evil.I'm not going to say there isn't any such thing. I've met some evil people, they scare me.
I'm not afraid of ghosts - but there are other things out there that scare the living crap out of me.
Not sure where that rant came from, must be a full moon, kench!There are definitely people who do evil things. Their choice...
Mod
At the cemetery gate I stopped, and called through it into the humming darkness, "Kat Jordan, Sharon Tillotson, and Daniel A. Roberts invite you to call on them. Don't forget the A or you could get the wrong Daniel Roberts."
Then I jumped on my bike and rode like the wind down the hill, banshees wailing after me.
Andre Jute wrote: "Took a ride at 3am, approaching an ancient graveyard on a hill outside town from the high side.At the cemetery gate I stopped, and called through it into the humming darkness, "Kat Jordan, Sharon..."
Ah hahahaa! Good one! But it's not the banshees you should be worrying about. The Black Annis will follow you home, and the rumor she only eats children is grossly misunderstood.
Besides, 3am? They're already out looking for trouble. It's like trying to order at McDonalds three hours before they open.
Disturb them around 10pm. That'll get you followed home more often than not.
