YA / Horror Ebook

lady_K · Sep 16, 2011

Hey guys! I've decided to dedicate this page strictly to my new YA / Horror novel. This will be similar to a sales journal, and I'll be keeping a record on how many sales I make (if any) on my first self-published book. As of today, Ghost of Spades is live on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords for $.99. It's a 65,000 word YA / Horror - the first book of a series.

I'm excited to share my writing with someone other than my mom, but I'm not expecting a lot. Hopefully this thread will inform someone else about the self-publishing process. Also, feel free to comment about your e-book experiences

I'd love to hear them.

Love&Light

profen4 · Sep 16, 2011

Good luck, Lady K. I love YA Horror - though I often find it difficult to track down. do boi nam ca tinh quan ao nu dep tat so sinh cho be ao so mi nu ao so mi nu chup anh dam cuoi

lady_K · Sep 16, 2011

swhibs123 said:
Good luck, Lady K. I love YA Horror - though I often find it difficult to track down.

thanks a lot swhibs!! And you're right about it being hard to track down. I tried looking up teen horror on Amazon, and it was nearly nonexistent. There were a few, but it was mostly self-published ebookers. Nothing much in the traditional market.

annetpfeffer · Sep 16, 2011

Good luck! I'll be very interested to hear how things go for you, since I'm publishing my own YA book soon too. (Not a horror book, though.)
Are you doing an ebook only, or also a softcover?

lady_K · Sep 17, 2011

annetpfeffer said:
Good luck! I'll be very interested to hear how things go for you, since I'm publishing my own YA book soon too. (Not a horror book, though.)
Are you doing an ebook only, or also a softcover?

Hi Anne!! Good to meet you, and thanks a lot. I went to your blog earlier and devoured the first chapter. Can't wait till its released

At some point, probably more sooner than later, I'll have a softcover available through CreateSpace. I think people would really like to have a paperback in their hands for the holidays, so they can give them away to their friends and family.

I also checked out that teen site on your blog, and already read up on some pretty amazing stories. So much great YA fiction was posted there. I had to force myself to turn the computer off and do something useful. But I also figured reading someone else's story IS being useful, especially if I'm enjoying it. So I convinced myself to indulge. I'm not technically being lazy, not if I leave a comment afterwards.

lady_K · Sep 17, 2011

Btw, if there are enough YA writers trying to take the indie route, I think we should all get together and start a group. It'd be a fun way to lighten up the load. We could sort of help and support each other through the process.

What do you guys think?

annetpfeffer · Sep 17, 2011

lady_K said:
Hi Anne!! Good to meet you, and thanks a lot. I went to your blog earlier and devoured the first chapter. Can't wait till its released

.

Thank you! You just made my day better! Here's to the success of your new book....

lady_K · Sep 20, 2011

And to yours . . . I want to be the first, or at least the second, to know when its released

Saul Tanpepper · Sep 20, 2011

Congrats on the launch, lady K. I'm curious why you've set your price at 99 cents. I know the usual arguments of drumming up interest, but it can cut both ways with potential readers seeing the price point and, given this is a full-length novel, assume the work isn't of sufficient quality to command a higher price. I'm making no judgements (I have yet visited your Amazon or Smashwords page, but will after this), just curious.

lady_K · Sep 20, 2011

Saul Tanpepper said:
Congrats on the launch, lady K. I'm curious why you've set your price at 99 cents. I know the usual arguments of drumming up interest, but it can cut both ways with potential readers seeing the price point and, given this is a full-length novel, assume the work isn't of sufficient quality to command a higher price. I'm making no judgements (I have yet visited your Amazon or Smashwords page, but will after this), just curious.

Thank you Saul Tanpepper! I set the book for 99 cents as a special release price; it's going back up to 2.99 next week. This was just more of a way to get people to come and review it. The paperback will be available soon also for 11.99, so that's another option. I'm sort of biased on the whole argument about pricing and quality. I do believe it's possible to have an amazing novel sell for 99 cents. It just doesn't happen often

pengwinz · Sep 21, 2011

Ah, thanks for explaining. I was wondering this, too. Eagerly waiting to hear how it goes (as I'm sure others are, too)! And best of luck to you!

Saul Tanpepper · Sep 23, 2011

lady_K said:
Thank you Saul Tanpepper! I set the book for 99 cents as a special release price; it's going back up to 2.99 next week. This was just more of a way to get people to come and review it. The paperback will be available soon also for 11.99, so that's another option. I'm sort of biased on the whole argument about pricing and quality. I do believe it's possible to have an amazing novel sell for 99 cents. It just doesn't happen often

TY. This seems like a reasonable strategy. Too often it seems like a SPer will price themselves too low or high without a clear vision and rationale. Wishing you the best of luck.

:Hug2:

Hiroko · Sep 23, 2011

I can't wait to hear how your book sells.

WyrdeDragon · Dec 16, 2011

lady_K said:
Btw, if there are enough YA writers trying to take the indie route, I think we should all get together and start a group. It'd be a fun way to lighten up the load. We could sort of help and support each other through the process.

What do you guys think?

Sounds like an interesting idea. I'm currently kicking around the idea of self-publishing through Amazon/ Smashwords/ etc. I've got a YA novel I've been shopping around for a couple years (actually the first of a 6 book series) and I'm getting tired of agents that love it, but not enough to take it on. Most often because they say it's YA for boys (as it has a male MC) and that market's just too hard of a sell unless they really, really love the book. I think what's most depressing is they are usually enthusiastic to see anything else I might right. So clearly there's something to the writing, just not the story.

Anyway, if i do go the self-pub route, it might help to put together a group of related authors, so we can pool resources for promotional ideas. I've read a few guides on self-promotion for authors (self-pub or otherwise) and working with a group of other authors is often suggested as part of a marketing and promotion plan.

BTW, have to say I love your handle. The main character in the second book in my series goes by the name Lady K (yes, each of the 6 books will have a different MC/ narrator). Quite an amusing coincidence.

Saul Tanpepper · Dec 16, 2011

Hey, lady_K, how are the sales going? It's been three months now. Sales of my shorts have been slow, dribs and drabs. But I haven't done any promo. Are you going to try KLL?

I'd be up for forming a YA indie group.

swhibs123 said:
I love YA Horror - though I often find it difficult to track down.

I have two YA horror short stories out now but am planning a novel release in May. A Thing for Zombies and Flawless: a Claire Fontaine Novella are on Amazon (Flawless is free for Amazon Prime members; hoping to get the second one on KLL soon, as soon as it clears from B&N and other sites).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M8GX1K/?tag=absowrit-20 http://www.amazon.com/Flawless-Clai...?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324077518&sr=1-5

profen4 · Dec 16, 2011

Saul Tanpepper said:
hoping to get the second one on KLL soon, as soon as it clears from B&N and other sites).

ao lot nu do boi dep xe day cao cap cho be vay lien cong so quan ao ban buon cho thue trang phuc
What is KLL?

StoneWheller · Dec 17, 2011

Good luck with your book. I have loved ghost stories all my life.

lady_K · Jan 23, 2012

Wow, sorry guys. I've been gone for three months. I've been really busy with holidays and trying to be a sexy girlfriend, and then visiting parents#1 & parents#2 . Then I had to buy a new fish and start writing book 2

On the professional side of things, sales haven't been too bad. I'm not making a lot of money, and I'm not Amanda Hocking status, but I'm grateful for the sales, and the steady increase. As long as one person is reading my ebook, my prayers have been answered.

I've also been getting a lot of emails lately (or more like 2 months ago, hehe) about starting the YA indie group. I think I'm gonna do it sometime next week. If you want to join, just PM me. It'll be fun.

Love&Light

lady_K · Jan 23, 2012

Hiroko said:
I can't wait to hear how your book sells.

thanks hiroko!

thanks a lot StoneWheeler! I've always had a soft spot for ghosts too.

WyrdeDragon
Glad to hear you're considering the self-pub route. It's a lot of fun, and a lot of work, but I think it's worth it in the end. I love the intimate exchange between me and my books. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm also going forward with the Indie group idea. I'd like to PM you the details by next week, if you're still interested

YA / Horror Ebook

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

profen4

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

annetpfeffer

practical experience, FTW

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

annetpfeffer

practical experience, FTW

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

Saul Tanpepper

writer of spec fic

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

pengwinz

Roadtripper

Saul Tanpepper

writer of spec fic

Hiroko

Which of them was the machine?

WyrdeDragon

Saul Tanpepper

writer of spec fic

profen4

StoneWheller

Dancing Under Wintery Stars

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)

lady_K

It's all about the F.A.M.I.L.Y :)