L.D. Hardy's Blog
January 20, 2012
KDP Select and my thoughts
I, like many other authors, have opted to participate in the Kindle Direct Publishing Select or KDP program. Honestly, I am still on the fence about it. In hindsight, I should have waited until I had a second book to offer before I enrolled but since my Barnes & Nobles sales were so miniscule I figured why not?
I took advantage of the "free promotion" days and offered my book for free on 1/16 for one day only. KDP allows for five (5) free promotion days per title, during the 90 day enrollment period. I was leery about offering my book for free because I know that some people will download or get something just because it is free. There is no real interest in the item, the interest lies in the fact that you got something for nothing.
Results I ended up giving away 1200 copies. I have to admit, the number shocked me. I assumed that at the most I would end up giving away a couple hundred but each time my ranking increased I got nervous. I had all sorts of ridiculous thoughts: "Did my entire core audience just get my one and only book for free", "Who is left that will buy it?", "I just did the dumbest thing ever". However, the next day I did end up selling nine copies; more than I have ever sold in one day. I had been languishing in Amazon ebook obscurity for a while there. I went from a ranking nearing #300K in ebooks to a peak of #202 at one point during my "promo" day. I had 18 downloads in Amazon.UK and 3 downloads in Amazon Denmark. I even got a borrow! Each subsequent day I have gotten at least three sales per day.
So I have to do a "wait & see" to determine if it was in fact a prudent marketing maneuver. There is just not enough data to justify me believing it was a worthwhile venture. Again, I do not have a second book, series, or the like in my catalog so I cannot default to, "The promotion boosted sales in my other titles", like many others have claimed.
You may be wondering what would make me feel as if it was a worthwhile exploit? Because the books are gone, the deed is done and I can't get them back. Well, I feel that if of the 1200 downloads I can get 10-20 reviews THEN I feel it would have be worth it for me.
I doubt that I am going to take advantage of the other 4 days that Amazon offers though. It was too ulcer-inducing a moment for me.
I took advantage of the "free promotion" days and offered my book for free on 1/16 for one day only. KDP allows for five (5) free promotion days per title, during the 90 day enrollment period. I was leery about offering my book for free because I know that some people will download or get something just because it is free. There is no real interest in the item, the interest lies in the fact that you got something for nothing.
Results I ended up giving away 1200 copies. I have to admit, the number shocked me. I assumed that at the most I would end up giving away a couple hundred but each time my ranking increased I got nervous. I had all sorts of ridiculous thoughts: "Did my entire core audience just get my one and only book for free", "Who is left that will buy it?", "I just did the dumbest thing ever". However, the next day I did end up selling nine copies; more than I have ever sold in one day. I had been languishing in Amazon ebook obscurity for a while there. I went from a ranking nearing #300K in ebooks to a peak of #202 at one point during my "promo" day. I had 18 downloads in Amazon.UK and 3 downloads in Amazon Denmark. I even got a borrow! Each subsequent day I have gotten at least three sales per day.
So I have to do a "wait & see" to determine if it was in fact a prudent marketing maneuver. There is just not enough data to justify me believing it was a worthwhile venture. Again, I do not have a second book, series, or the like in my catalog so I cannot default to, "The promotion boosted sales in my other titles", like many others have claimed.
You may be wondering what would make me feel as if it was a worthwhile exploit? Because the books are gone, the deed is done and I can't get them back. Well, I feel that if of the 1200 downloads I can get 10-20 reviews THEN I feel it would have be worth it for me.
I doubt that I am going to take advantage of the other 4 days that Amazon offers though. It was too ulcer-inducing a moment for me.
December 21, 2011
I wrote it for me... but i still want it to sell.
So I am feeling a mix of emotions right now because I am questioning whether or not my book is good enough. Consequently, I am wondering if I should even continue on this journey as a writer. I realize that I am getting ahead of myself, but I tend to get a little overly-dramatic sometimes so bear with me.
This overflow of emotion is coming on the heels of two really bad reviews; one and two stars to be exact, and both on prominent internet-retail outlets. A one-star review? I mean, people really give those out?? I know that I'm no Toni Morrison, but give me a break!
I mean, don't get me wrong, I fully understand from a logical standpoint that everyone will not enjoy the book; however, this was a labor of love for me and quite honestly, it hurts. I will admit that when I typed "The End" and closed my laptop, I allowed myself a delicious moment to romanticize how my first book would be received: rave reviews, countless awards, and finally the coup de grâce a run on the New York Times Bestsellers list. However, reality can be a cruel bastard sometimes (slow sales, marketing nightmares, self- publishing disasters) and so is that one-star review.
Admittedly, I wrote the book for me, there was no particular audience in mind but I was always told, do what you love and your bliss will follow. That saying should have come with a disclaimer: "bliss is not immediately guaranteed and comes with unexpected side effects, such as: irritation, hurt, pain, lapses of happiness, sleeplessness, and fatigue."
This overflow of emotion is coming on the heels of two really bad reviews; one and two stars to be exact, and both on prominent internet-retail outlets. A one-star review? I mean, people really give those out?? I know that I'm no Toni Morrison, but give me a break!
I mean, don't get me wrong, I fully understand from a logical standpoint that everyone will not enjoy the book; however, this was a labor of love for me and quite honestly, it hurts. I will admit that when I typed "The End" and closed my laptop, I allowed myself a delicious moment to romanticize how my first book would be received: rave reviews, countless awards, and finally the coup de grâce a run on the New York Times Bestsellers list. However, reality can be a cruel bastard sometimes (slow sales, marketing nightmares, self- publishing disasters) and so is that one-star review.
Admittedly, I wrote the book for me, there was no particular audience in mind but I was always told, do what you love and your bliss will follow. That saying should have come with a disclaimer: "bliss is not immediately guaranteed and comes with unexpected side effects, such as: irritation, hurt, pain, lapses of happiness, sleeplessness, and fatigue."
