- Joined
- Jan 6, 2014
- Messages
- 507
- Reaction score
- 16
- Location
- Mantlestown
- Website
- rtdriver90.tumblr.com
A few months ago I posted about how my sales were drastically down on Amazon, and how I contemplated going wide, that is, dropping kindle exclusivity and spreading to other markets. With nothing really to lose, I did just so and thought I'd share my experience, for what it's worth.
Rather than use books I had coming down the pipe, I used my existing Isaac Comett series. Now it has a small following currently, and is also geared towards a small teenage niche, but believed that going wide would help to boost awareness - and it did. I saw a modest jump in sales from barnes and noble and like 1 or 2 from smashwords...
...but then it ended quick.
During this time I did promote it on a few free promo platforms, but I dont attribute any sales to that as much of the fact that I simply released a new book. When I put book 2 of the series up, I saw a few more sales, but less than before. After doing more digging into my records, I now can appreciate this truth that has been echoing around me: books sell books.
Ive since gone back to Amazon and said goodbye to smashwords, b&n etc because I enjoy Amazons promo tools, and now feel that rather than going wide, my focus should just be on improving my craft, creating stories, and obtaining as many reviews from supporters as i can; not worrying about distribution. Not for nothing too, I just released my next book and I have page reads for my older books now, which have been lying dormant on Amazon for months. Did they buy the new book? Who knows. But some folks must have been driven to peek at what else I had.
My advice for anyone just starting out or with a small following is to simply keep practicing the craft of writing and put quality work out. We might not have the large email lists or fanbases like so many others, but with enough consistancy one can start to draw attention to their pieces.
Rather than use books I had coming down the pipe, I used my existing Isaac Comett series. Now it has a small following currently, and is also geared towards a small teenage niche, but believed that going wide would help to boost awareness - and it did. I saw a modest jump in sales from barnes and noble and like 1 or 2 from smashwords...
...but then it ended quick.
During this time I did promote it on a few free promo platforms, but I dont attribute any sales to that as much of the fact that I simply released a new book. When I put book 2 of the series up, I saw a few more sales, but less than before. After doing more digging into my records, I now can appreciate this truth that has been echoing around me: books sell books.
Ive since gone back to Amazon and said goodbye to smashwords, b&n etc because I enjoy Amazons promo tools, and now feel that rather than going wide, my focus should just be on improving my craft, creating stories, and obtaining as many reviews from supporters as i can; not worrying about distribution. Not for nothing too, I just released my next book and I have page reads for my older books now, which have been lying dormant on Amazon for months. Did they buy the new book? Who knows. But some folks must have been driven to peek at what else I had.
My advice for anyone just starting out or with a small following is to simply keep practicing the craft of writing and put quality work out. We might not have the large email lists or fanbases like so many others, but with enough consistancy one can start to draw attention to their pieces.