AgathaChristieFan's self-publishing journey
- Thread starter AgathaChristieFan
- Start date
I think you've had a great start!
Thanks for the update and it looks like you have a solid plan. Good luck with everything!!
Thanks for the update and it looks like you have a solid plan. Good luck with everything!!
I've been a busy bee today. My book finally went live on the B&N website, and my 2nd proof from createspace is in the mail. Hopefully it's formatted correctly this time (most of my friends don't own e-readers so they want the paperback).
I set up a LibraryThing account even though I don't really understand it. I had a hard time linking my book to my profile. But I had a good experience with Goodreads. Usually I just go on there to post reviews. But yesterday I joined "Mystery, Thriller" and "Making Connections" groups.
I managed to get some bloggers interested in doing a book review for me (so my total is 4), and I asked for author interviews. It looks like that group is very supportive, which is cool. I also signed up to gift 10 of my books on amazon if people are willing to do a review. The moderator will post that shortly.
It looks like I'll find a lot of interesting books to read from this group. I signed up to do a book review for one of the thrillers of the month. Hopefully, once my book gets noticed, sales will peak a little. So far I've had 1 sale on Amazon, and zero for Smashwords and B&N.
I have a question. On Amazon, if the author buys their own book or gifts it to another person, is that considered a sale on the sales report? If so, I don't really have a total of 7 sales so far. I'd only have 5.
I set up a LibraryThing account even though I don't really understand it. I had a hard time linking my book to my profile. But I had a good experience with Goodreads. Usually I just go on there to post reviews. But yesterday I joined "Mystery, Thriller" and "Making Connections" groups.
I managed to get some bloggers interested in doing a book review for me (so my total is 4), and I asked for author interviews. It looks like that group is very supportive, which is cool. I also signed up to gift 10 of my books on amazon if people are willing to do a review. The moderator will post that shortly.
It looks like I'll find a lot of interesting books to read from this group. I signed up to do a book review for one of the thrillers of the month. Hopefully, once my book gets noticed, sales will peak a little. So far I've had 1 sale on Amazon, and zero for Smashwords and B&N.
I have a question. On Amazon, if the author buys their own book or gifts it to another person, is that considered a sale on the sales report? If so, I don't really have a total of 7 sales so far. I'd only have 5.
I think it does count the author's purchases. I've been removing one sale in my counts since I bought a Kindle version to make sure it looked OK.
I haven't tried LibraryThing yet, but I've heard good things. Let me know how it goes once you figure it out!
LibraryThing doesn't have as nice an interface as Goodreads, but it's worth persevering. You can set up a member giveaway with an ebook (for up to 100 copies).
Just had a look into your book at Amazons - and would buy it if Amazon would let me. But they block e-books for my region and print will be no option because of the costs.
Still, I liked what I read very much. The cover also looks great, so I think with some more promotion you will sell more. Wish you lots of good luck!
Still, I liked what I read very much. The cover also looks great, so I think with some more promotion you will sell more. Wish you lots of good luck!
RLMcKeown, thanks for the heads up. I won't consider it a sale when I gift my book to anyone. I did the same thing too LOL. I hurried and bought my book to make sure it formatted correctly (I just have the original kindle--nothing fancy). I'll definitely let you know how LibraryThing turns out.
Polenth, I'll have to look into giveaways on LibraryThing. Thanks for the info.
Sunwords, Thank you so much for your kind words. I haven't been able to stop smiling all day. The cover was actually created by a member on AW. She's really nice and efficient--only took 3 to 4 days. I was bummed when I found out I'd have to use a new cover for any site that wasn't Amazon. But that's what pre-mades are for
Are you allowed to have PDFs? Something you could download to your computer? My book is on Smashwords with that option or I could just give you a copy.
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Today has been a good day! I received my first review on Goodreads (a 4 out of 5 stars), and bloggers got back to me letting me know I can have my author interview.
I even got a sale on B&N--wasn't expecting that But the kicker is that I just checked my Amazon ranking, and it went up to around 82,000. It was at 348,000. I was all excited, thinking I had many sales. When I clicked on my sales report, it's only 1 extra sale from yesterday LOL. Either the sales haven't downloaded yet into the system or Amazon has a very wonky way of calculating rankings.
Every sale counts, so I'm proud.
Now, I'm off to beta-read. Starting Monday, I really need to set a schedule so I can balance my writing, helping other writers, and promoting my book. All this week, I haven't written anything, which isn't good. I never knew checking book stats and Goodreads was more addicting than checking blog stats.
Polenth, I'll have to look into giveaways on LibraryThing. Thanks for the info.
Sunwords, Thank you so much for your kind words. I haven't been able to stop smiling all day. The cover was actually created by a member on AW. She's really nice and efficient--only took 3 to 4 days. I was bummed when I found out I'd have to use a new cover for any site that wasn't Amazon. But that's what pre-mades are for
Are you allowed to have PDFs? Something you could download to your computer? My book is on Smashwords with that option or I could just give you a copy.
-----
Today has been a good day! I received my first review on Goodreads (a 4 out of 5 stars), and bloggers got back to me letting me know I can have my author interview.
I even got a sale on B&N--wasn't expecting that
But the kicker is that I just checked my Amazon ranking, and it went up to around 82,000. It was at 348,000. I was all excited, thinking I had many sales. When I clicked on my sales report, it's only 1 extra sale from yesterday LOL. Either the sales haven't downloaded yet into the system or Amazon has a very wonky way of calculating rankings.Every sale counts, so I'm proud.
Now, I'm off to beta-read. Starting Monday, I really need to set a schedule so I can balance my writing, helping other writers, and promoting my book. All this week, I haven't written anything, which isn't good. I never knew checking book stats and Goodreads was more addicting than checking blog stats.
First let me just say, this morning a bird pooped on me. Yuck! I was on my way to work. People say it's a good luck charm. Crossing my fingers.
Today, my 2nd proof came into the mail. It looks way better than the first one (I changed font from Times New Roman to Garamond, and changed to justified). I accepted the proof, and it went live within seconds. This is a good thing because my family and friends have been asking about a paperback version since April.
One thing I learned from publishing my first book. Don't talk about potential release dates LOL.
Plus, my friend is a freelance writer, who submits articles for the local paper. She ran a story idea by her editor, which got approved. Tomorrow she's interviewing me about my journey in self-publishing my debut novel and about my first short story being accepted into a magazine. She also wants to focus on my writing group. It'll be good to get exposure because we're always looking for local writers to hang out with.
Haven't been able to stop smiling all day
Today, my 2nd proof came into the mail. It looks way better than the first one (I changed font from Times New Roman to Garamond, and changed to justified). I accepted the proof, and it went live within seconds. This is a good thing because my family and friends have been asking about a paperback version since April.
One thing I learned from publishing my first book. Don't talk about potential release dates LOL.
Plus, my friend is a freelance writer, who submits articles for the local paper. She ran a story idea by her editor, which got approved. Tomorrow she's interviewing me about my journey in self-publishing my debut novel and about my first short story being accepted into a magazine. She also wants to focus on my writing group. It'll be good to get exposure because we're always looking for local writers to hang out with.
Haven't been able to stop smiling all day
With the exception of that naughty bird, it looks like nice things are happening for you. Happy to hear it... write on!
Yeah I heard that before, but I never see it that way!
It's amazing what just changing the font from TNR can do to the appearance, as well as justifying. In my early proofs, I never knew about 'justifying', and oh man was it valuable knowledge to receive. Palatino is also a nice font to use I found.
Awesome updates! Congrats! Well, except for the one when the bird pooped on you, but I guess the saying is true. It is good luck cause look at all the cool things that are happening for you!!!
Thanks Ann, Judy, and Celeste!
Spell-it-out, I never heard of Palatino font. I'll have to experiment with it. My favorites by far are Arial and Calibri
LOL about the bird pooping on me. I came prepared today with my hoodie, extra napkins, bottle of water, and my belongings in a plastic bag. If it happened once, it can happen again.
I guess it's time for updates:
For June so far:
Amazon--5 sales (1 I gifted to a reviewer)
B&N--1 sale
Smashwords--0 but I had 2 sample downloads
Createspace--1 sale
Spell-it-out, I never heard of Palatino font. I'll have to experiment with it. My favorites by far are Arial and Calibri
LOL about the bird pooping on me. I came prepared today with my hoodie, extra napkins, bottle of water, and my belongings in a plastic bag. If it happened once, it can happen again.
I guess it's time for updates:
For June so far:
Amazon--5 sales (1 I gifted to a reviewer)
B&N--1 sale
Smashwords--0 but I had 2 sample downloads
Createspace--1 sale
sarahdalton
Banned
My first novel is in TNR and I really think it needs an update! I might see what Palatino looks like. I've heard Garamond is a nice one too.
Congrats on the sales and good luck for the rest of the month!
Congrats on the sales and good luck for the rest of the month!
...I was bummed when I found out I'd have to use a new cover for any site that wasn't Amazon. But that's what pre-mades are for
So, wait... I'm new to this. Does Amazon require that the cover on Amazon be unique, and covers elsewhere have to be a different image?
Thanks Sunwords and SarahDalton!
Heza, that's correct. If you publish an ebook on B&N, Smashwords, or any other book site, it has to be a different cover than your Amazon one. If you don't, it violates their contract and they can remove your book from Amazon.
Heza, that's correct. If you publish an ebook on B&N, Smashwords, or any other book site, it has to be a different cover than your Amazon one. If you don't, it violates their contract and they can remove your book from Amazon.
Do you have a link for that? I can't see it in the user agreement and I know a lot of books using the same cover everywhere.
Good news: this is not accurate.
It's nearly universal that the same cover is used across all channels.
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I question this, as well. I would think, for recognition, all the book covers should be the same.
...my friend is a freelance writer, who submits articles for the local paper. She ran a story idea by her editor, which got approved. Tomorrow she's interviewing me about my journey in self-publishing my debut novel and about my first short story being accepted into a magazine. She also wants to focus on my writing group. It'll be good to get exposure because we're always looking for local writers to hang out with.
Haven't been able to stop smiling all day
Yay! So cool, congrats!
Thanks Tienci!
I noticed in fine print (could have been amazon or createspace) that cover is made exclusively for amazon. It was the wee hours of the morning, so maybe I misread. Some other authors are under this impression as well, opting to do KDP select because they only have one book cover. As a book reviewer, I would go to Goodreads to obtain book cover images for my blog (and some others had different covers than what was on their own blog and amazon). At first, I thought maybe they were old covers, but looking closely, it was actually different editions (b&n, smashwords).
If I'm misinformed, sorry Heza for giving you and others wrong information.
I noticed in fine print (could have been amazon or createspace) that cover is made exclusively for amazon. It was the wee hours of the morning, so maybe I misread. Some other authors are under this impression as well, opting to do KDP select because they only have one book cover. As a book reviewer, I would go to Goodreads to obtain book cover images for my blog (and some others had different covers than what was on their own blog and amazon). At first, I thought maybe they were old covers, but looking closely, it was actually different editions (b&n, smashwords).
If I'm misinformed, sorry Heza for giving you and others wrong information.
Now for updates:
I had a wonderful weekend. I got to show my family a physical book and they were excited. At the cook-out, some members told me they haven't bought my book yet (even though they said they had on facebook) so even more mysteries about my earlier sales. An old college acquaintance Facebook PMed me about loving my book, so that's one mystery solved
My book review request on Goodreads is starting to pay off. One person wrote that she can't wait to read it. And a person I don't know added my book to her To-Read list. She's a fan of horror and thriller.
Back to family time this weekend, I went to many cookouts over the weekend to celebrate Father's Day. I saw my older cousin; my mom told her and her daughters about the book. They're in their teen or early 20's I believe. Anyway, I was blushing when I told them about the book. She told me I better have Denzel Washington or The Rock as a cop LOL.
Anyway, later on that night, one of their cousins were reading on their phone. I thought she was texting or something, but it turned out she was reading a sample of my book! Cool beans. She had snuck off to ask my older cousin what my name was to find me
And my hair stylist has been asking me about my book since it's beta-reader stage, so she was excited to hear that I published. She grabbed the book out of my hand and showed her other clients LOL.
Even if I don't gain any sales from this, I'm still digging the exposure. And knowing that young people can do positive things with their lives and not be considered a nerd (even though I technically am I LOL).
On Friday, the photographer of the local paper took pictures of me and my writing group. The article will be in this Thursday's paper. It's cool because the reporter is an INTJ like me, so she wants to discuss our personality styles in the article as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.
I had a wonderful weekend. I got to show my family a physical book and they were excited. At the cook-out, some members told me they haven't bought my book yet (even though they said they had on facebook) so even more mysteries about my earlier sales. An old college acquaintance Facebook PMed me about loving my book, so that's one mystery solved
My book review request on Goodreads is starting to pay off. One person wrote that she can't wait to read it. And a person I don't know added my book to her To-Read list. She's a fan of horror and thriller.
Back to family time this weekend, I went to many cookouts over the weekend to celebrate Father's Day. I saw my older cousin; my mom told her and her daughters about the book. They're in their teen or early 20's I believe. Anyway, I was blushing when I told them about the book. She told me I better have Denzel Washington or The Rock as a cop LOL.
Anyway, later on that night, one of their cousins were reading on their phone. I thought she was texting or something, but it turned out she was reading a sample of my book! Cool beans. She had snuck off to ask my older cousin what my name was to find me
And my hair stylist has been asking me about my book since it's beta-reader stage, so she was excited to hear that I published. She grabbed the book out of my hand and showed her other clients LOL.
Even if I don't gain any sales from this, I'm still digging the exposure. And knowing that young people can do positive things with their lives and not be considered a nerd (even though I technically am I LOL).
On Friday, the photographer of the local paper took pictures of me and my writing group. The article will be in this Thursday's paper. It's cool because the reporter is an INTJ like me, so she wants to discuss our personality styles in the article as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.