Jumping into the self publishing ocean

CathleenT

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I think you're doing fine--17k is nothing to sneeze at. We're not all Amanda. (In fact, I don't know anyone else who can consistently write 6-9k every day.) The important thing is that you feel that the words are good. It's going to be your name on the cover. : )
 

Woollybear

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Hi Sandree,

From reading the thread it sounds s though you had best luck with Amazon and KDP (or KU or KD select?)

If you had it to do again would you go strictly with amazon? And do you find KDselect to be good (I think that still allows KU downloads, yes?)

Hope I am using the jargon right.
 

sandree

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Hi Patty,

Yes, I think the Amazon only experience has been enough for me to deal with starting out. If I can get two more books written in the same series, I might try going wide again but for now being in KDP select (Kindle Unlimited) has been positive. I have gotten some eyes on my book through Goodreads and I think a lot of those reads were through Kindle Unlimited. I am a prawny little minnow so those borrows through Kindle Unlimited at least make me happy that my book is getting out there.
 

sandree

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The Color of Sunshine, Book Two in the Aride Universe is now released!

I allowed Book 1 to sink into the nether depths of Amazon by stopping any promotions. This second book may follow it right down. I think the books are good but I am terrible at marketing. I read about launch plans and promo strategies and newsletter swaps and my eyes glaze over. I learned from the first book that I only got eyes on it by promoting it but it never paid off in ROI.

I’m questioning whether I want to complete the series with a third book or just give up. I published wide this time but maybe should just go back into KDP. Maybe I would get some page reads. Maybe I should do a newsletter promo just to see if it does anything. But what do I promote? The first book? The second one? Or just put it in KU and quietly slink off and write a third one. I’ve been spending more time painting than writing lately, another big money maker!:D But it is less stressful than writing...

I love the cover which I designed but got some professional help with the details...

:Shrug: Any ideas for this not-to-market out-of-the-box series?

Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H3PMKGH/?tag=absowrit-20
And wide: https://books2read.com/u/meeO1Z
 

Woollybear

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Huzzah!

I loved the first book, as you know.

Have you considered doing a free promo of book one with a link at the end to book two, hoping for read through and sales at that point? This is my plan.

Yes, ROI is something I've not see yet. Bezos gets richer with each click, I get bubkus.

I posted your news on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/pltavormina/status/1304121765728120832
 
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sandree

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Thank you so much for the twitter mention. That is one social media outlet I haven’t succumbed to.

I am thinking about trying one paid promo push. I’m published wide now and I’d have to figure out how to get book one listed free. It seems a little dicey trying to get Amazon to keep it free when you need it to be. I could do a 99 cent promo, I guess... thinking about it. I probably need some reviews before I try that. Duh! Now I understand the whole ARC reader thing. Asking my newsletter subscribers now. Should have done that before it was out. Like
I said, marketing - not my forte!
 

CathleenT

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Congrats on the new release. : )

As to finishing, you have to decide that. I wouldn't leave a series hanging because that can impact you negatively later. Say you've found an author you like. You start reading their books. The first series you pick, it turns out they never finished it. Well, forget that. You go find someone else to read.

So, then you go and take the whole series down if you're smart. I'd rather finish it. YMMV.

I wouldn't worry too much about the commercial thing yet. You still have yet to learn how to market, which seems like it'll be required for your work.

I'm in the same boat, so don't feel bad. Marketing matters, and it's hard. But free is a lot easier than $.99. I did a whole article on it which I posted on AW, but it's probably easier to find on my blog. It's under the promotions tab, and it's the promo for little fish. Just in case that helps. Basically, there are still a lot of promo letters that will promote a free book for free out there. Nobody's much interested in promoting a cheap book, not unless you're going to lose money on the promo. They all assume you'll make it back over the course of the series (because that always works).

Honestly, though, other than my social media and blog, and the free promos, I've decided not to worry about marketing until I've got more books, and really, it seems to me that stand-alones won't get it done. We need to write in series, and we need several of them to do the ROI thing. So, I'm not even going to bother until I've written the next series, which will have a free novella/novelette up front, and be at least four books long overall. And it's going to be less niche. After the duology I'm planning to release soon, that should give me a dozen books. Hopefully, that will be worth the spend that promos take. *insert shrug here*
 

sandree

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That sounds like a solid and ambitious plan, Cathleen. And I agree about leaving this series hanging. It needs at least 3 books, though it could be longer. So it’s time to get back to writing. At least I’ve learned a tremendous amount about writing and self publishing with the first two. I’m not even sure this series is not marketable. I think it’s possible there is a good audience for it.
 

Woollybear

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I'd think (but not at all sure) that you'd still see interest in the 99c version without reviews. At least with the free promos, the downloads are remarkable, so people want free (and possibly also cheap) books, which to me seems like it would hold regardless of reviews.

Finding the newsletter to promote it though, yeah I have no idea about this. I'd probably put the money out for it.

Cathleen--I'm curious if you have used instagram for promotion? Twitter has done a small amount for me, not much sales wise, tons community-wise (I love twitter, it turns out), but I've heard IG is where readers hang out. I don't know the best hashtags to find them, or the best snapshots to give them. I suppose the opening 200 words with a link... Not sure. But with the right hashtag it could get in front of readers? Curious for your thoughts.

This looks possible: https://www.janefriedman.com/10-instagram-tips-for-writers/
 
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sandree

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I’m on Instagram. Fairly new to it and started because I wanted to put my art on there. There are tons of hashtags, lots of Bookstagrammers who take lovely still life type photos of books. I think you can approach them and ask them to feature your book but I haven’t tried that. Not sure if any of it results in sales. I was already on Pinterest so I put my books on there. Again, does this lead to sales??
 
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CathleenT

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Woollybear, the problem isn't reviews, the problem is getting your book seen by readers at all.

Almost all $.99 promos cost money. You're making practically nothing at that price point--something around $.33. It won't offset what you pay to promote the book.

OTOH, there's a whole bunch of newsletters and sites that will promote your free book for free. I've never gotten much in the way of reviews out of it, but I have moved a bunch of copies that way. It's a hassle, but you can set your book back to paid after the promos.

At least people will have read it. That's all I really want at this point. I don't think I have enough out there to make any money. I'm just getting ready to pub novels two and three. The rest is shorter fiction, and that's not really in the bulls-eye of reader interest.

As far as Instagram goes, no, I'm not on it, beyond a skeleton account. In my experience, social media won't sell books. The most you can hope for is to give free copies away. YMMV. Social media is also good to get people to your blog, where they may buy your books or at least pick up your freebie. It's nice to have one to just offer to anyone for free and another as an email magnet.

But that's what works for me, at least for now.

It's so individual that the best I can tell people is to get a site, start an email list, and then try stuff. Try not to spend any more money than you have to. Most people, I believe, find it to be a money sink, at least at first. Best to keep costs within reason because the site and covers will already set you back. : )

And sandree, I would definitely finish your series. I've read backlists of authors I like--I bet you have, too. But to get those sales, first you have to have a backlist.;-)
 

sandree

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Cathleen, do you have any tips on setting your book to free on Amazon? I’m confused about the price matching. Now that I am published wide, I don’t have the free promo times in KDP. I think I will do some free promos as you’re right that 99 cents is not worth it.

And thank you for your blog post on free promotion. It’s a great resource for those of us who are very prawny.:) There isn’t much written (other than write more books right now) about how to promote before you have 3 books, 5 books, 30 books. Saving the paid promos for that time is also a good suggestion.
 
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CathleenT

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I'm just glad someone's actually using the promo post. I put a lot of work into that thing. : )

Getting your book set to free is super-easy. You simply rat on yourself. I usually send a respectfully worded request, using the kdp help link. (It's always a bit of a struggle to find and use. I think they do that on purpose.)

Anyway, just give them a competitor's link. Smashwords won't work. They want Apple, Kobo, and/or B&N. Once I send them the link, it usually takes about a day.
 

Norman D Gutter

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Best of luck with your continued self-publishing efforts, Sandree. I wish you to have many sales.

Best Regards,
NDG
 

sandree

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Thank you for the well wishes, Norman!
 

Fuchsia Groan

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I’m on Instagram. Fairly new to it and started because I wanted to put my art on there. There are tons of hashtags, lots of Bookstagrammers who take lovely still life type photos of books. I think you can approach them and ask them to feature your book but I haven’t tried that. Not sure if any of it results in sales. I was already on Pinterest so I put my books on there. Again, does this lead to sales??

I have pitched Bookstagrammers and been featured by a few, though whether that led to any sales I don’t know! (My book’s trade published, but at least one Grammer assumed it was self-published since I was doing the pitching.) I found the feeds I wanted to be featured on by looking up the most popular posts under the hashtags I was using. And I found popular hashtags by looking at books/authors similar to mine. I messaged people with a brief summary and some quotes from good reviews of the book. I’ve met some very cool people in the IG horror world this way!

I also bought a Storygram tour, which is affordable and awesome. They do a lot of work with in-house publicists. I don’t know if they do self-published books, but it’s worth checking.

I’m still nobody on Instagram, and I go weeks without posting sometimes, but I enjoy it more than Twitter or FB, so there’s that.

Oh, and this is a random data point, but last week a local paper published a review of my book. Sales nearly tripled after stagnating for several weeks. We’re talking small numbers, but people always say press coverage doesn’t move the dial unless it’s Oprah, so maybe this is worth noting.

Anyway, good luck!!!
 

sandree

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Thank you for the Instagram info. I know I should do some local PR. I do see how that could give a boost to sales. I’m just so damn intrinsically shy, especially in person. Here’s my typical sales pitch. “Yeah, it’s pretty good. You might like it. But you might not. Wanna buy it?”
 

M. H. Lee

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The Color of Sunshine, Book Two in the Aride Universe is now released!

...I’m questioning whether I want to complete the series with a third book or just give up. I published wide this time but maybe should just go back into KDP. Maybe I would get some page reads. Maybe I should do a newsletter promo just to see if it does anything. But what do I promote? The first book? The second one?

Finish the series.

The important thing to realize about self-publishing books is that you don't always have to sell well right out of the gate. You can start to make money years later.

What I've found for me personally with my fantasy series is that I'm a good enough writer people will read the books that are available, but not such an amazing writer that they'll keep looking for the next book for a year or two. So odd as it may seem, the more of book 1 I sold before the rest of the series was done, the more potential readers I ultimately lost. With my fantasy series I published in 2015, 2016, and 2017. My most profitable year on that series was 2019 after I had a fantasy Bookbub and the rest of the series was priced at $7.99 for the year. Which is all to say, it's too early to give up. Finish the series and promote it. Then judge.

Also, when you do promote, focus on getting readers into the series by promoting book 1. If book 1 does its job, they'll read through to the rest of the books, just make sure you have your ebook set up so that the story ends, there's a small break, and then there's a link to the next book all on the same page.

Good luck and congrats on finishing the second book.
 

MercyMe

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Everything M. H. Lee said with one addition: I clicked on the link for your first book in your sig and you have great reviews. A great cover. Great reviews. This series will find its audience. Readers are the best word of mouth. Definitely ride that wave and finish the series. Your readers will pick up your next work and recommend your stuff to their friends. To gain new readers (once you have the series finished) make book one free once in awhile. Make it a rare treat. I swear this works. I don't know how, but it does.

Publish wide and start a newsletter or a blog that fans can follow and put that link at the end of your books. The only thing I learned about books that don't quite fit the market is that a finished series sells better than unfinished and you will find readers who are looking for exactly the thing you write. And that makes it worth writing.

Technical stuff is to check your keywords and blurbs to make sure you are attracting the reader who will buy your book.
 

sandree

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Thank you so much for the encouragement. With the length of time it takes to write a series (at least for me), it's easy to become discouraged. I do plan to forge on and finish the third book. And then there is room for more - or for a second series connected to the first. If I feel someone wants to read it and enjoys it, I get the "juice" to keep going.
 

sandree

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Finish the series.

The important thing to realize about self-publishing books is that you don't always have to sell well right out of the gate. You can start to make money years later.

What I've found for me personally with my fantasy series is that I'm a good enough writer people will read the books that are available, but not such an amazing writer that they'll keep looking for the next book for a year or two. So odd as it may seem, the more of book 1 I sold before the rest of the series was done, the more potential readers I ultimately lost. With my fantasy series I published in 2015, 2016, and 2017. My most profitable year on that series was 2019 after I had a fantasy Bookbub and the rest of the series was priced at $7.99 for the year. Which is all to say, it's too early to give up. Finish the series and promote it. Then judge.

Also, when you do promote, focus on getting readers into the series by promoting book 1. If book 1 does its job, they'll read through to the rest of the books, just make sure you have your ebook set up so that the story ends, there's a small break, and then there's a link to the next book all on the same page.

Good luck and congrats on finishing the second book.

Love this tip about putting the link to the next book right after the ending. I'm going to change that as I have it on the next page, I think.
 

sandree

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Wow! My book cover for The Color of Sunshine made it to the next cut off in the All Author October Book Cover contest. If you want to vote in this round and keep it going, that would be fun! :hooray:

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/9812/
 
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