Lots of sample downloads but....

Kingson · Nov 8, 2011

Through Smashwords I'm getting lots of sample downloads for my crime novel that has two reviews averaging 3-1/2 stars, but barely anyone actually buys the book (99 cents). Is there just so much competition diluting the pool of potential buyers? If the book was crap, I would understand. But I have no doubt it's a fun read worthy of a segment of that pool. Any thoughts?

Dani · Nov 8, 2011

If people are downloading the sample, but not buying the book, I would say that it has nothing to do with the competition and more to do with the disinterest in the story. Otherwise they wouldn't download the sample at all. There seems to be some interest in the story - enough to generate a download of the sample - but then they don't buy.

It could be that the sample wasn't enough to interest them or, it could be they haven't had a chance to read it yet. I know that I download books for free and they sit on my Kindle for ages before I read them. Right now I have twelve books that I haven't read.

How big is the sample?

shaldna · Nov 8, 2011

From experience I know that people tend to download A LOT of free samples, even of books that they might not normally read. After all, it's free so they have nothing to loose.

I find that on my ebooks for every book sold there has been about 30 sample downloads.

Kingson · Nov 8, 2011

How big is the sample?[/QUOTE said:
Sample is half the book.

Dani · Nov 8, 2011

Kingson said:
Sample is half the book.

That explains a lot then. People most likely download it when they have access to a good internet connection (home probably) and will read it later.

RobJ · Nov 8, 2011

I read some of the sample, and if I'm honest, it didn't grab me. It's not crap, as you rightly say, but I didn't find it particularly interesting and think it needs work. Only one opinion, of course. Good luck though. Let us know how you get on.

thothguard51 · Nov 8, 2011

Not to sound mean, but if you offer 1/2 the book as a sample, then one of two possibilities exist.

1...The story is not enticing enough for a reader to buy so they can read the other half.

2...The writing itself lacks.

Of course there is always the third option. The readers are stupid and snobbish and, and don't understand what the book is about. But that option is usually a fail...

My suggestion, cut the sample to one chapter. If the first chapter grabs them they will buy, and even if the rest of the book does not meet their expectations, (which happens), well, too late.

merrihiatt · Nov 8, 2011

I have not seen the same percentage of sales at Smashwords as I have at Amazon. Others sell more at Smashwords than on Amazon. It's hard to know exactly why. Same with reviews. I received all good reviews at B&N, yet have some scathing ones calling my book "the most horrible book I've ever read" on Amazon. The book contains the same story on both sites.

Kingson · Nov 8, 2011

I read some of the sample....

Sorry, but how did you access my sample? My name is somewhere?

J. Tanner · Nov 8, 2011

In the various threads you've posted about the book. Takes 5 seconds to find what book you wrote if someone's interested.

Kingson · Nov 8, 2011

Okay.

Amos Gunner · Nov 11, 2011

On the plus side, you've had two reviews. I haven't had any, which sorta bums me out.

kaitie · Nov 11, 2011

My guess would be that there's a problem with the book as well. It's similar to when a person gets a partial request from an agent but never gets upgraded to a full. The blurb and cover must have been enticing enough for people to show interest in, but if no one is buying based on the sample, that implies that they weren't interested enough to continue.

Have you had an objective beta reader look at your work? It's hard to be objective about our own manuscripts, and it's possible that an outside party would be able to point out problems that you don't see.

Kingson · Nov 11, 2011

A professional editor with decades of experience edited the book and gave it four and a half stars. Yes, I paid him, no I didn't "buy" the review.

RobJ · Nov 11, 2011

Kingson said:
A professional editor with decades of experience edited the book and gave it four and a half stars. Yes, I paid him, no I didn't "buy" the review.

Am I understanding you right. He edited it first, then he rated it? I mean, if he's just edited it, how many stars do you expect him to give it?

Kingson · Nov 11, 2011

He has a website where he recommends great e-books. I submitted mine. He didn't think the book was at the level of "great ebooks" but he liked the story and thought with editing it would be a "good" book. Actually, he gave it 4 out of five stars. You can read his review at Smashwords. I know it's a good read that would appeal to a segment of the people who read this genre and when I have two or three more, I'm confident the series will gain a following if I learn how to market it. I knew the obvious answer to my original question was "they read the sample and didn't like it enough to continue", but I think there is more to it than this simple equation, which is why I decided to ask for opinions.

RobJ · Nov 11, 2011

Kingson said:
He has a website where he recommends great e-books. I submitted mine. He didn't think the book was at the level of "great ebooks" but he liked the story and thought with editing it would be a "good" book. Actually, he gave it 4 out of five stars. You can read his review at Smashwords.

I'm a little confused as to what happened when, but if he's reviewed the book after you've paid him for editing it, the review is unreliable. Don't lose any sleep over it, but if that is what happened, I wouldn't go using his review as evidence of anything.

thothguard51 · Nov 11, 2011

I usually throw out the top and bottom reviews to get more of a feel of those in between. While a 4 or 5 star review might sound good, I am of the opinion that few are truly 4 or 5 stars good. Especially of someone I have never heard of. I trust word of mouth from friends more than I do in reviews from strangers...

As to the editor thingy, I trust you checked him out to see what other books he has edited and talked with those authors? Having a web site does not make someone a great editor...

Captcha · Nov 11, 2011

I read a few pages of the sample, and I agree that you should be looking at your writing before looking for external factors.

In the pages that I read, you have awkward word repetition ("as if" two sentences in a row), an uncertain voice for one of the characters, ("I feared you wouldn't know me" sounds formal, "Hound-dog business been good to you!" sounds - well, I'm not sure what, but certainly not formal), a lot of back story (before I care about the characters enough to want it), odd, hard-to-understand phrases ("the scandal of Great-granddad's remembrance"), and unclearly attributed dialogue ("You find out yet what a bullet can do to a man's head?" and on).

I know you didn't ask for a critique, but you're rejecting the obvious answer to your question based on the belief that your writing is at at four or five star level, and I really don't think it is. I'm not saying it's not a good story, or that the first few pages are an accurate representation of the book as a whole, but there are a LOT of books out there, and if your first few pages aren't dynamite - I think that might be why you're not getting the downloads you hope for.

G. Applejack · Nov 11, 2011

Basically echoing what everyone else said. I just browsed through the first few pages and I could tell that the writing itself is a little flowery for my tastes. "From this miserable residue, Great-granddad..." It's been awhile since I've seen the word 'residue' used as describing a physical place instead of, you know, a stain on your t-shirt.

So yeah, it could use some tweaking. But to be honest... what I read was still better than most self-pubbed samples I've seen recently. You have talent and skillz.

The thing is, the first few pages have to be STELLAR for me to buy, especially if it's a self published. (Sorry, I'm a bit biased, but I've been burned a lot.) Right now I'd rate you as a B, and I need to see a solid A or A+ for me to throw down that dollar on a self published book.

Pepperman · Nov 12, 2011

It's like any business. If people want the product, and it stands out, they will buy it. When I check out websites. if I'm not hooked, I move on.

bearilou · Nov 12, 2011

Kingson said:
I knew the obvious answer to my original question was "they read the sample and didn't like it enough to continue", but I think there is more to it than this simple equation, which is why I decided to ask for opinions.

I hate to say but, maybe there isn't more to it than the simple equation of 'read the sample, wasn't interested enough in it to continue'.

I give amazon's 'download sample chapter' function a hard workout. From personal experience, if I don't download the book after reading the sample, it's because it didn't grab me enough to buy the book, or the writing was just that bad.

I suppose a thing to consider, reading your comment above about the length of the sample, is that your sample is too big. You may want to consider the advice of trimming that back to a chapter.

Kriven · Nov 12, 2011

While I haven't checked out your sample, it is true that a longer "sample" could steal the "snap" right out of a small demo. I can see the logic behind attempting to get a reader invested enough in the story through a long excerpt so that they buy the rest, but if the sample carries on into the slow bits, that "snap" is sucked right out of it.

It's like a movie trailer. All they show you are the bits where Spider-Man is swinging around the city and kicking Sandman. If they showed the part where he danced down the street, I don't think as many people would have gone to see it.

Kingson · Nov 12, 2011

[FONT=&quot]Okay, here's the passage that two of you have referred to. I love this paragraph. Not everyone will love it. That's okay. There are loads and loads of books to choose from so I agree that the sample has to strike hard and fast. I still like the book how it is, but I will certainly take into consideration all the comments[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. Thanks for all your opinions.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]
"The “curse” referred to our family history, starting with Great-granddad who made his fortune among his immigrant brethren of pushcart peddlers working the open-air market of Chicago’s Maxwell Street. From this miserable residue, Great-granddad guaranteed a dependable stream of extorted money and earned the monikers of iron-fisted boss, political dictator, city hall chieftain—and scoundrel. In addition to Ward Committeeman, he also held offices with fancifully arcane titles such as City Collector and City Sealer of Weights and Measures. Some of my relatives called him the smartest man they ever knew and pointed to his chauffer-driven limousine on a municipal salary as proof. Others pointed to the same thing and called him a gangster. Regardless, those who knew him or knew of him understood why the scandal of Great-granddad’s remembrance inspired passion sixty or more years after the man died penniless in my father’s childhood bed. Where better to assign the blame for a family’s perpetually bad attitude?"[/FONT]

Marian Perera · Nov 12, 2011

Kingson said:
[FONT=&quot]Some of my relatives called him the smartest man they ever knew and pointed to his chauffer-driven[/FONT]

Isn't it spelled "chauffeur"?

Lots of sample downloads but....

Kingson

Dani

Cuddly sweet teddy bear!

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

Kingson

Dani

Cuddly sweet teddy bear!

RobJ

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Kingson

J. Tanner

Kingson

Amos Gunner

figuring it all out

kaitie

With great power comes

Kingson

RobJ

Kingson

RobJ

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

Captcha

G. Applejack

Write faster! FASTER!

Pepperman

Pepperman

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

Kriven

Kingson

Marian Perera

starting over