It was honestly amazing to read through this thread fully and see your journey. Congratulations RedWombat!
The Kingfisher Has Landed
- Thread starter RedWombat
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Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, RedWombat. I just bought Nine Goblins for my kindle. 
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@KiwiChick - Awesome! Thank you!
Well, here we are at the one week mark, and the total for Raven is...drumroll please...
1009 copies sold!
*does a little dance*
Well up from Bryony's release, and from Bride before it. Victory!
(I realize that these 150 copy jumps are small potatoes by many standards, but I'm still small enough self-pub potatoes that I get excited. Plus, that's like three months worth of rent, and that is nothing to sneeze at...)
Well, here we are at the one week mark, and the total for Raven is...drumroll please...
1009 copies sold!
*does a little dance*
Well up from Bryony's release, and from Bride before it. Victory!
(I realize that these 150 copy jumps are small potatoes by many standards, but I'm still small enough self-pub potatoes that I get excited. Plus, that's like three months worth of rent, and that is nothing to sneeze at...)
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- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 1,197
- Reaction score
- 327
- Location
- North Carolina
- Website
- www.ursulavernon.com
February Totals
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 1260
D2D: 129
Smashwords: 115
PDF Direct Sales: 2
Total:1506
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 272
D2D: 27
Smashwords: 10
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 309
Toad Words
Kindle: 106
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 8
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 126
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 98
Smashwords: 15
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 113
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 1506
Bryony & Roses: 6158
Toad Words: 3506
Nine Goblins: 4604
And there's that bump I was hoping for! A strong launch for Reindeer, (probably around equal to Bryony's, given that it had an extra week of sales, but a better start out of the gate) and it kicked everything back up. How hard, it's tough to say--in addition to the new book, 47North's edition of Bride went on Kindle sale and spiked, and Bryony got a review on Dear Author, to the tune of nearly 75 sales, so it was a pretty good month all around. Bryony went back to paying rent after a month off and the two smaller books brought home groceries and beagle meds.
Not complaining in the slightest here. I have gotten some really lovely notes from readers on Reindeer, and I feel warm and fuzzy about it all.
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 1260
D2D: 129
Smashwords: 115
PDF Direct Sales: 2
Total:1506
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 272
D2D: 27
Smashwords: 10
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 309
Toad Words
Kindle: 106
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 8
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 126
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 98
Smashwords: 15
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 113
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 1506
Bryony & Roses: 6158
Toad Words: 3506
Nine Goblins: 4604
And there's that bump I was hoping for! A strong launch for Reindeer, (probably around equal to Bryony's, given that it had an extra week of sales, but a better start out of the gate) and it kicked everything back up. How hard, it's tough to say--in addition to the new book, 47North's edition of Bride went on Kindle sale and spiked, and Bryony got a review on Dear Author, to the tune of nearly 75 sales, so it was a pretty good month all around. Bryony went back to paying rent after a month off and the two smaller books brought home groceries and beagle meds.
Not complaining in the slightest here. I have gotten some really lovely notes from readers on Reindeer, and I feel warm and fuzzy about it all.
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March & April
...and I missed March. Oh man, book tours destroy me.
March:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 390
D2D: 30
Smashwords: 11
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 431
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 162
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 175
Toad Words
Kindle: 68
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 80
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 76
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 79
April:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 446
D2D: 21
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 470
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 139
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 152
Toad Words
Kindle: 65
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 67
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 64
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 68
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 2407
Bryony & Roses: 6485
Toad Words: 3653
Nine Goblins: 4751
I have given up any attempt at predicting anything. Sales have been down for a lot of people, self included, Bryony has slid down into grocery money instead of rent, but Raven's taken up some slack there. Clearly I need to finish another book and put it out...in my copious spare time...
...and I missed March. Oh man, book tours destroy me.
March:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 390
D2D: 30
Smashwords: 11
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 431
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 162
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 175
Toad Words
Kindle: 68
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 80
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 76
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 79
April:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 446
D2D: 21
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 470
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 139
D2D: 12
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 152
Toad Words
Kindle: 65
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 67
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 64
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 68
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 2407
Bryony & Roses: 6485
Toad Words: 3653
Nine Goblins: 4751
I have given up any attempt at predicting anything. Sales have been down for a lot of people, self included, Bryony has slid down into grocery money instead of rent, but Raven's taken up some slack there. Clearly I need to finish another book and put it out...in my copious spare time...
Nice to see the continued sales.
A few random questions for you:
-Have you ever thought of going direct through Kobo or Apple? I've heard with both that sales can increase if you're direct instead of through D2D or Smashwords.
-What are your thoughts on staying wide? I see that about 10% of your sales come from wide. Have you ever thought about going exclusive with Amazon for a bit? (I ask this as I'm coming up on a new novel release and I'm at about the same percentage wide vs. Amazon, although not near your total sales numbers.)
A few random questions for you:
-Have you ever thought of going direct through Kobo or Apple? I've heard with both that sales can increase if you're direct instead of through D2D or Smashwords.
-What are your thoughts on staying wide? I see that about 10% of your sales come from wide. Have you ever thought about going exclusive with Amazon for a bit? (I ask this as I'm coming up on a new novel release and I'm at about the same percentage wide vs. Amazon, although not near your total sales numbers.)
Have I ever told you that I like your way of doing stats? Because I like your way of doing stats.
Funny thing is, you're one of my benchmarks. You're not exactly my genre, but close enough. I'm not going to muck around with going wide until your Kindle says go down and your other sales go up.
Funny thing is, you're one of my benchmarks. You're not exactly my genre, but close enough. I'm not going to muck around with going wide until your Kindle says go down and your other sales go up.
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Oh, hey, interesting questions! And wow, glad to help!
Ah...hmm. I have a single Amazon exclusive that I don't note through here, because it's via 47North, and it's done well, but it's also being promoted by them, so it's not really a viable data point.
Honestly, the main reason I don't go exclusive is because I have a lot of readers who can't or won't do Amazon, and I have no desire to lose them. They're mostly readers who have been with me for literally decades, and I feel an obligation to make stuff available as widely as I can for them.
I don't do direct because...well, it's a pain in the arse. My sales are so minimal via other routes that I just don't feel like chasing it--if I had to dig through two or three more platforms, even if they literally doubled my sales on those platforms, it would be...well, look at Toad Words, it managed a whole two sales last month via D2D. Even if we pretend one of those wasn't iBooks (and it was) I just don't see the cost-effectiveness of personally keeping track of two more platforms at my current sales levels.
One of the hardest things I've had to learn recently is that my time is more valuable writing books than keeping them! So for example, I've recently outsourced my print sale business, even though I take a paycut by not selling direct, because I don't think I'll be on my deathbed wishing I spent more time fighting with my printer. A bulk uploading platform is massively worth it to me just to not deal with the hassle these days.
Ah...hmm. I have a single Amazon exclusive that I don't note through here, because it's via 47North, and it's done well, but it's also being promoted by them, so it's not really a viable data point.
Honestly, the main reason I don't go exclusive is because I have a lot of readers who can't or won't do Amazon, and I have no desire to lose them. They're mostly readers who have been with me for literally decades, and I feel an obligation to make stuff available as widely as I can for them.
I don't do direct because...well, it's a pain in the arse. My sales are so minimal via other routes that I just don't feel like chasing it--if I had to dig through two or three more platforms, even if they literally doubled my sales on those platforms, it would be...well, look at Toad Words, it managed a whole two sales last month via D2D. Even if we pretend one of those wasn't iBooks (and it was) I just don't see the cost-effectiveness of personally keeping track of two more platforms at my current sales levels.
One of the hardest things I've had to learn recently is that my time is more valuable writing books than keeping them! So for example, I've recently outsourced my print sale business, even though I take a paycut by not selling direct, because I don't think I'll be on my deathbed wishing I spent more time fighting with my printer. A bulk uploading platform is massively worth it to me just to not deal with the hassle these days.
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May Totals (Belated yet again)
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 321
D2D: 20
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 346
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 114
D2D: 16
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 134
Toad Words
Kindle: 61
D2D: 5
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 69
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 60
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 66
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 2753
Bryony & Roses: 6619
Toad Words: 3722
Nine Goblins: 4817
I've had better months. Clearly I gotta get a new book out soon...it seems like one JUST came out, but that was actually in February, so we're about to hit the six month mark or so. I'm at least a few months out from a new one, though, so I'm scrabbling a bit. (Meanwhile I have a zillion children's books in the works, so it's not like I'm not selling books, just not under this pen-name!)
On the bright side, Amazon's version of Seventh Bride is a Kindle deal in the US this month, which is hopefully having a little bit of a knock-on effect.
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 321
D2D: 20
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 346
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 114
D2D: 16
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 134
Toad Words
Kindle: 61
D2D: 5
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 69
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 60
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 66
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 2753
Bryony & Roses: 6619
Toad Words: 3722
Nine Goblins: 4817
I've had better months. Clearly I gotta get a new book out soon...it seems like one JUST came out, but that was actually in February, so we're about to hit the six month mark or so. I'm at least a few months out from a new one, though, so I'm scrabbling a bit. (Meanwhile I have a zillion children's books in the works, so it's not like I'm not selling books, just not under this pen-name!)
On the bright side, Amazon's version of Seventh Bride is a Kindle deal in the US this month, which is hopefully having a little bit of a knock-on effect.
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June & July
In my defense, there was a LOT of travel...
June:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 341
D2D: 33
Smashwords: 8
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 382
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 179
D2D: 18
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 200
Toad Words
Kindle: 101
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 111
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 69
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 74
July:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 214
D2D: 18
Smashwords: 7
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 239
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 162
D2D: 9
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 173
Toad Words
Kindle: 60
D2D: 4
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 64
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 49
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 54
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3374
Bryony & Roses: 6992
Toad Words: 3897
Nine Goblins: 4945
June picked up a smidge, July slid back down. This has not been a great summer for sales, overall, (okay, it's frankly been bad to the point of apocalyptic) but self-pub paid the rent for another month or two. And even my long-ago backlist and my anthology bought a round of groceries, so I shouldn't complain. The books are working hard!
August is gonna be ugly, though. Fortunately, September cometh, and I've got a new web serial coming out in September, so hopefully that'll get things moving a bit.
In my defense, there was a LOT of travel...
June:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 341
D2D: 33
Smashwords: 8
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 382
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 179
D2D: 18
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 200
Toad Words
Kindle: 101
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 111
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 69
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 74
July:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 214
D2D: 18
Smashwords: 7
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 239
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 162
D2D: 9
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 173
Toad Words
Kindle: 60
D2D: 4
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 64
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 49
Smashwords: 5
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 54
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3374
Bryony & Roses: 6992
Toad Words: 3897
Nine Goblins: 4945
June picked up a smidge, July slid back down. This has not been a great summer for sales, overall, (okay, it's frankly been bad to the point of apocalyptic) but self-pub paid the rent for another month or two. And even my long-ago backlist and my anthology bought a round of groceries, so I shouldn't complain. The books are working hard!
August is gonna be ugly, though. Fortunately, September cometh, and I've got a new web serial coming out in September, so hopefully that'll get things moving a bit.
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August & September
August:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 148
D2D: 15
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 167
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 95
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 107
Toad Words
Kindle: 44
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 53
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 57
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 63
September:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 108
D2D: 13
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 123
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 84
D2D: 11
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 98
Toad Words
Kindle: 38
D2D: 3
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 44
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 47
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 53
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3664
Bryony & Roses: 7197
Toad Words: 3994
Nine Goblins: 5061
Well, it's a good thing I don't have to dig ditches to supplement my living, or else the last few months would be really hard on my back. Can safely say that everything has moved firmly to the backlist now. I am doing a web-serial, "Summer in Orcus" which I am hoping will drive a little traffic to the books, but it's actually mostly paying dividends in Patreon income, which has stepped in to fill some of the gap from the sales slump. (And I'm very okay with that!)
I dunno. Last year was so amazing and this year's been rough on nearly every self-pub author I know. I really gotta bring out another book once the web-serial wraps in January, which seems like a bit of a long-shot, but stranger things have happened. I'm not sure if it's a general trend or if some years are just good and some are bad and that's life...
August:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 148
D2D: 15
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 167
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 95
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 107
Toad Words
Kindle: 44
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 53
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 57
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 63
September:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 108
D2D: 13
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 123
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 84
D2D: 11
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 98
Toad Words
Kindle: 38
D2D: 3
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 44
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 47
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 53
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3664
Bryony & Roses: 7197
Toad Words: 3994
Nine Goblins: 5061
Well, it's a good thing I don't have to dig ditches to supplement my living, or else the last few months would be really hard on my back. Can safely say that everything has moved firmly to the backlist now. I am doing a web-serial, "Summer in Orcus" which I am hoping will drive a little traffic to the books, but it's actually mostly paying dividends in Patreon income, which has stepped in to fill some of the gap from the sales slump. (And I'm very okay with that!)
I dunno. Last year was so amazing and this year's been rough on nearly every self-pub author I know. I really gotta bring out another book once the web-serial wraps in January, which seems like a bit of a long-shot, but stranger things have happened. I'm not sure if it's a general trend or if some years are just good and some are bad and that's life...
This year was going fine for me up until summer. Everything kind of pooped out then, and hasn't quite recovered.
Can't compare it to last year, my first big release then was November so the year was mostly done...
Can't compare it to last year, my first big release then was November so the year was mostly done...
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October Sales
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 94
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 106
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 72
D2D: 4
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 79
Toad Words
Kindle: 29
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 31
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 28
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 29
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3770
Bryony & Roses: 7276
Toad Words: 4025
Nine Goblins: 5090
Mama always warned me there'd be months like this... *sings off-key*
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 94
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 106
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 72
D2D: 4
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 79
Toad Words
Kindle: 29
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 0
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 31
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 28
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 29
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 3770
Bryony & Roses: 7276
Toad Words: 4025
Nine Goblins: 5090
Mama always warned me there'd be months like this... *sings off-key*
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Ok. We're gonna call this one "I got really depressed after the election and then the recordkeeping kinda went to hell."
Nevertheless, I have just published "Summer in Orcus" which I released as a web serial last fall. 90K, Patreon supported. It was free to read, and Patreon subscribers got a free ebook.
This is where it's hard to estimate--how many people upped their Patreon because it was available? How many decided to wait for the ebook? How many would have supported the Patreon anyway? I have no way of telling. Nevertheless, I'd say I probably made around $2000 from the Patreon that I can trace to this particular book. Which, as advances go, is low for trade pub, but not bad at all for small press, so calling it good!
Now, to try and write up the last two months of sales...
Nevertheless, I have just published "Summer in Orcus" which I released as a web serial last fall. 90K, Patreon supported. It was free to read, and Patreon subscribers got a free ebook.
This is where it's hard to estimate--how many people upped their Patreon because it was available? How many decided to wait for the ebook? How many would have supported the Patreon anyway? I have no way of telling. Nevertheless, I'd say I probably made around $2000 from the Patreon that I can trace to this particular book. Which, as advances go, is low for trade pub, but not bad at all for small press, so calling it good!
Now, to try and write up the last two months of sales...
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November & December Sales
November:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 261
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 270
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 63
D2D: 5
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 70
Toad Words
Kindle: 30
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 37
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 26
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 28
December
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 141
D2D: 13
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 158
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 75
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 84
Toad Words
Kindle: 46
D2D: 0
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 47
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 30
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 36
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 4198
Bryony & Roses: 7430
Toad Words: 4109
Nine Goblins: 5154
Whew! Caught up!
Well, sales are what they are--not that much of a slump, actually, from October (although given that October was pretty dismal, that's not saying much!) Big jump for Reindeer in November, when the price was dropped as part of a promo with a group of fantasy romance authors--moved like 150 copies that way, though of course the royalties were way down as well. Still, hopefully it got some people hooked!
Somewhat confusing matters overall, a lovely print volume, The Halcyon Fairy Book, was published in January by NEFSA, which included the collection Toad Words. 669 copies printed, sold at Arisia and online, and I got a handsome little royalty check. I have absolutely no idea how one factors that into things, except that Toad Words brought home the bacon in January. As an anthology, it's always been my lowest earner (and I expected that! It's cool!) so what amounted to a sudden $1300 windfall from it makes me very happy indeed. That's not exactly self-pub income, but on the other hand, the book wouldn't exist if I hadn't written Toad Words already, so I figure it's worth mentioning here.
November:
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 261
D2D: 8
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 270
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 63
D2D: 5
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 70
Toad Words
Kindle: 30
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 37
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 26
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 28
December
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 141
D2D: 13
Smashwords: 4
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 158
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 75
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 84
Toad Words
Kindle: 46
D2D: 0
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 47
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 30
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 36
Total Sales to Date
Raven & Reindeer: 4198
Bryony & Roses: 7430
Toad Words: 4109
Nine Goblins: 5154
Whew! Caught up!
Well, sales are what they are--not that much of a slump, actually, from October (although given that October was pretty dismal, that's not saying much!) Big jump for Reindeer in November, when the price was dropped as part of a promo with a group of fantasy romance authors--moved like 150 copies that way, though of course the royalties were way down as well. Still, hopefully it got some people hooked!
Somewhat confusing matters overall, a lovely print volume, The Halcyon Fairy Book, was published in January by NEFSA, which included the collection Toad Words. 669 copies printed, sold at Arisia and online, and I got a handsome little royalty check. I have absolutely no idea how one factors that into things, except that Toad Words brought home the bacon in January. As an anthology, it's always been my lowest earner (and I expected that! It's cool!) so what amounted to a sudden $1300 windfall from it makes me very happy indeed. That's not exactly self-pub income, but on the other hand, the book wouldn't exist if I hadn't written Toad Words already, so I figure it's worth mentioning here.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2017
- Messages
- 1,018
- Reaction score
- 173
- Location
- The Backwoods Of Maine
- Website
- raiscara-avalon.typepad.com
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 1,197
- Reaction score
- 327
- Location
- North Carolina
- Website
- www.ursulavernon.com
January & February
January
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 337
D2D: 28
Smashwords: 29
PDF Direct Sales: 2
Total: 396
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 109
D2D: 14
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 126
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 85
D2D: 17
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 103
Toad Words
Kindle: 36
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 43
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 31
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 37
February
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 422
D2D: 32
Smashwords: 19
PDF Direct Sales: 1
Total: 474
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 93
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 109
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 84
D2D: 9
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 95
Toad Words
Kindle: 48
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 52
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 64
Smashwords: 7
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 71
Total Sales to Date
Summer in Orcus:870Raven & Reindeer: 4433
Bryony & Roses: 7628
Toad Words: 4204
Nine Goblins: 5262
Some day, O internet, I will not get distracted by shiny objects at the end of the month and will do this promptly!
This batch sees the release of a brand new book, Summer in Orcus. It was on my Patreon first, and now is loose in the world. I was expecting to see a real sales hit because of the Patreon thing, but while the initial bump was halved, probably because my buy-the-first-day fans are all on Patreon already, sales have still been rather better than I expected. It's as if rather than having a huge opening, it moved immediately into the second month of sales. And it kicked sales of the backlist up a little bit, too. (I am not sure why Nine Goblins suddenly experienced a resurgence of sales in February--reviewed somewhere, I assume--but I'm also not complaining! Way to bring home the groceries, Goblins!)
We're not quite back to I-can-live-on-self-pub money, but with the addition of Patreon, it's definitely a lot better than it had been. Hoping to get a novella out in the next few months, rather than go a year between releases this time!
January
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 337
D2D: 28
Smashwords: 29
PDF Direct Sales: 2
Total: 396
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 109
D2D: 14
Smashwords: 3
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 126
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 85
D2D: 17
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 103
Toad Words
Kindle: 36
D2D: 6
Smashwords: 1
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 43
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 31
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 37
February
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 422
D2D: 32
Smashwords: 19
PDF Direct Sales: 1
Total: 474
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 93
D2D: 10
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 109
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 84
D2D: 9
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 95
Toad Words
Kindle: 48
D2D: 2
Smashwords: 2
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 52
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 64
Smashwords: 7
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 71
Total Sales to Date
Summer in Orcus:870Raven & Reindeer: 4433
Bryony & Roses: 7628
Toad Words: 4204
Nine Goblins: 5262
Some day, O internet, I will not get distracted by shiny objects at the end of the month and will do this promptly!
This batch sees the release of a brand new book, Summer in Orcus. It was on my Patreon first, and now is loose in the world. I was expecting to see a real sales hit because of the Patreon thing, but while the initial bump was halved, probably because my buy-the-first-day fans are all on Patreon already, sales have still been rather better than I expected. It's as if rather than having a huge opening, it moved immediately into the second month of sales. And it kicked sales of the backlist up a little bit, too. (I am not sure why Nine Goblins suddenly experienced a resurgence of sales in February--reviewed somewhere, I assume--but I'm also not complaining! Way to bring home the groceries, Goblins!)
We're not quite back to I-can-live-on-self-pub money, but with the addition of Patreon, it's definitely a lot better than it had been. Hoping to get a novella out in the next few months, rather than go a year between releases this time!
Hey, no worries if updates are late. Fringe benefit is you can use the Amazon report numbers, rather than the dashboard ones. I've noticed that for me the dashboard is off occasionally... never by much, but there's some arcane algorithm there which skews things by a few copies.
Have you encountered this before?
Have you encountered this before?
Just wanted to drop by and say congrats on the Hugo nomination. Not the first, hopefully not the last. Good luck!
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 1,197
- Reaction score
- 327
- Location
- North Carolina
- Website
- www.ursulavernon.com
2017 Got Away From Me
Ok, I won't lie, between the election I was depressed and then I went awhile without doing the report and then the sheer magnitude of catching up was so dire that I ignored it. Which was very bad of me because I had a new book come out and everything, and I have just kinda...not paid attention.
No more! Time for a massive update! Recordkeeping is the key to personal success! Or something!
...oy.
So turns out the easiest way to do this was just to find the year's sales to date and add it all up against the December totals at the end. (Shoutout to Smashwords for the worse formatted of the spreadsheets! It takes effort to excel in this field, but you went the extra mile to make it unreadable!)
First Eight Months 2017:
Jackalope Wives:
Kindle: 1932
D2D: 95
Smashwords: 57
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 2084
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 3008
D2D: 139
Smashwords: 61
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 3208
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 877
D2D: 66
Smashwords: 26
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 969
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 697
D2D: 63
Smashwords: 18
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 778
Toad Words
Kindle: 412
D2D: 29
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 447
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 441
Smashwords: 33
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 474
Total Sales to Date
Jackalope Wives:2084
Summer in Orcus: 3208
Raven & Reindeer: 5167
Bryony & Roses: 8208
Toad Words: 4556
Nine Goblins: 5628
You know, I'd like to complain, there's definitely been a downturn in e-books since I started and all but...frankly, this isn't bad. Summer in Orcus was a release of a free web serial and it still paid my rent for the entire eight months listed there, not including all the people it brought it to my Patreon and the Kickstarter we ran for an illustrated print volume. Nine Goblins and Toad Words came out four years and three years ago respectively, and they STILL paid a month of rent each, which at this point makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about the stories and how they're still working hard this far in. Bryony and Raven are both firmly backlist by now, but both of them pulled in a solid two months of rent and some extra grocery money.
(I find thinking of books in terms of rent makes me feel way better about the process. The numbers are very cold, but "rent" makes me feel like my books are taking care of me.)
Jackalope Wives, the most recent release, was almost all reprints, with only two brand new stories in it, and anthologies supposedly don't sell, and it went free to my Patreon people, and it STILL brought home five months worth of bacon. So y'know, that does not suck.
2015 was probably my peak self-pub year, but a lot of that was the success of Seventh Bride, which did miles better than my average, and which is still bringing home grocery money every month through various Amazon distribution things. I've got a new book in the works--if I'm lucky it'll be out next month and the sequel early in 2018--and I'm definitely hitting the "self-publishing pays the bills" stage. Which, going back through this thread, was all I ever really wanted! (Now, if the bills would kindly stop increasing, we might have a sustainable system on our hands...)
Ok, I won't lie, between the election I was depressed and then I went awhile without doing the report and then the sheer magnitude of catching up was so dire that I ignored it. Which was very bad of me because I had a new book come out and everything, and I have just kinda...not paid attention.
No more! Time for a massive update! Recordkeeping is the key to personal success! Or something!
...oy.
So turns out the easiest way to do this was just to find the year's sales to date and add it all up against the December totals at the end. (Shoutout to Smashwords for the worse formatted of the spreadsheets! It takes effort to excel in this field, but you went the extra mile to make it unreadable!)
First Eight Months 2017:
Jackalope Wives:
Kindle: 1932
D2D: 95
Smashwords: 57
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 2084
Summer in Orcus
Kindle: 3008
D2D: 139
Smashwords: 61
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 3208
Raven & Reindeer
Kindle: 877
D2D: 66
Smashwords: 26
PDF Direct Sales:
Total: 969
Bryony & Roses
Kindle: 697
D2D: 63
Smashwords: 18
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 778
Toad Words
Kindle: 412
D2D: 29
Smashwords: 6
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 447
Nine Goblins
Kindle: 441
Smashwords: 33
PDF Direct Sales: 0
Total: 474
Total Sales to Date
Jackalope Wives:2084
Summer in Orcus: 3208
Raven & Reindeer: 5167
Bryony & Roses: 8208
Toad Words: 4556
Nine Goblins: 5628
You know, I'd like to complain, there's definitely been a downturn in e-books since I started and all but...frankly, this isn't bad. Summer in Orcus was a release of a free web serial and it still paid my rent for the entire eight months listed there, not including all the people it brought it to my Patreon and the Kickstarter we ran for an illustrated print volume. Nine Goblins and Toad Words came out four years and three years ago respectively, and they STILL paid a month of rent each, which at this point makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about the stories and how they're still working hard this far in. Bryony and Raven are both firmly backlist by now, but both of them pulled in a solid two months of rent and some extra grocery money.
(I find thinking of books in terms of rent makes me feel way better about the process. The numbers are very cold, but "rent" makes me feel like my books are taking care of me.)
Jackalope Wives, the most recent release, was almost all reprints, with only two brand new stories in it, and anthologies supposedly don't sell, and it went free to my Patreon people, and it STILL brought home five months worth of bacon. So y'know, that does not suck.
2015 was probably my peak self-pub year, but a lot of that was the success of Seventh Bride, which did miles better than my average, and which is still bringing home grocery money every month through various Amazon distribution things. I've got a new book in the works--if I'm lucky it'll be out next month and the sequel early in 2018--and I'm definitely hitting the "self-publishing pays the bills" stage. Which, going back through this thread, was all I ever really wanted! (Now, if the bills would kindly stop increasing, we might have a sustainable system on our hands...)
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