Jumping into the self publishing ocean

sandree

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I did it! I published my first novel, Seeds of Change - soft science fiction that could be called hopepunk. I just learned about that...

https://www.vox.com/2018/12/27/18137571/what-is-hopepunk-noblebright-grimdark

I published wide, going direct with Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble, Draft2Digital for the rest. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I published to all those - they are all showing nice fat zeros for sales - but maybe that will evolve??

I created a website, had a cover designed through a 99 designs contest (there’s a blog about that on my website). I had a very kind AW moderator put my book in my signature line because I could not figure it out for the life of me.

I just did an AMS ad, have a tiny mailing list and got back on Facebook. Whew - it is all a big learning curve - and that’s not counting the writing☺️. I’m starting to work on the review part.

Now I feel like I can take a breath and think about getting back to writing. That will be nice after all of this...
 

starrystorm

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Wow! Congratulations. This is amazing news.
 

muse

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Congratulations. :hooray:
 

sandree

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Thanks everybody! I got a click on my AMS ad and a sale from that one click. May have been a fluke as no clicks since but that was a moment of excitement. So far I think I know who bought almost every book sold but I am grateful to them!

I entered a Goodreads review pool. My first review was from a PhD in English lit who writes literary fiction and the fellow reading it now is a retired physicist. My audience is readers who like escapist reading so that’s a bit intimidating.

The adventure continues...
 

sandree

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‘It’s been a crazy roller coaster of a learning experience so far. It’s been a little over a month since I put Seeds of Change “out there.”

I’ve sold 12 ebooks and 14 paperbacks and I think I know most of the people who purchased them. I was getting no eyes on my book on Amazon. All of my sales came from a tiny mailing list I already had. Then crickets.

I started wide and got nothing on the vendors other than Amazon. So I switched to KU in the hopes that I could get some ebook readers to take a look. About one week into KU, I ran a free promo and paid for a one day Freebooksy listing. That was pretty good - I got 1,888 free downloads and now am seeing KU page reads from that. I was #1 in three free categories for a few days. I took screenshots so I can prove it.☺️

But once again, in the sales department - crickets. I’ve tried a few AMS ads but only one sale so far from that. Not sure I really understand what I’m doing with that.

They say write another book, so I’m finally back to writing.

Emotionally, I have been a bit of a wreck. I have a fear of putting myself “out there” to be judged and it has been rough. I used to sell jewelry at craft shows and that was bad enough. A piece of jewelry is an expression of yourself but sharing my writing is like parading down Main Street naked.

But onwards and upwards. At least writing keeps me out of trouble. It keeps my mind occupied and that is worth a lot for me.
 
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CathleenT

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I'm trying to be disengaged from the whole disappointing sales thing.

If it helps, at least the people who know you buy copies. Believe it or not, that's something.

You and I should pinky swear to keep writing. Right now I've promised myself seven more books before I can consider quitting. : )
 

Undercover

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You sound in good spirits, Sandree, even though sales aren't what you hoped. Yes, writing is worth a great deal other than publishing. But that's great you're working on your next book. Have a Twitter? Have you been promoting your book there? If not, I would definitely do that. It takes time to build things up, but there's a huge writing community, that would love hearing about your book. There's so many hashtags you can get involved in. If for nothing else, you can get a lot of support out of it to keep writing.

Hope things work out for you. You have a really good attitude for things to work.
 

sandree

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I pinky swear, Cathleen!

I tried Twitter very briefly. Maybe it’s my age, but it just doesn’t appeal to me. I went back on Facebook and that has garnered some sales. That might be my social media limit.☺️
 

Fallen

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Congratulations on jumping in! And on the sales. I'm no good on Twitter either. :) Facebook works for me, Goodreads too, but that's mostly because I've been on them for years now.

Keep writing. Those new novels really do help!!
 

Kinsman

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As a new author, I'll chime in with words of encouragement as well. It might not sound encouraging but many writers & businesspeople much more experienced than I have been heard to say (and I paraphrase) that most "overnight successes" were 5-10 years in the making. I've also heard time and again, "The best marketing strategy is to keep writing". A long as you enjoy it, keep with it. With the sudden accessibility of self-publishing, it's easy to become lost in the white noise. Good writing will eventually stand out and gain notice (or at least that's what I keep telling myself ;) ) Congrats on getting your book "out there". Keep it up!!
 

sandree

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I received my first royalty payment. I just like the way that sounds. Royalty payment. No matter that this is the least amount of money I have ever made on a creative pursuit, it might mean the most to me. Writing fiction is something I was not brave enough to attempt for most of my life. So having written a novel and put it out in the world is just - big - for me.

I did another free promo and they definitely do work to get eyes on your book and get KU downloads. This time I spent very little money ($17) on promo sites but it was enough to push the book up to the #2 and #3 spot in a few free categories for a couple of days.

This three month round of KU, I am going to try a Countdown Deal so hopefully I can make a few $$ on the promotion. I’ll see if it can move me up on the paid ranking list for a few days which would be great.

The quest for reviews has gone well - 11 reviews on Amazon and more on Goodreads. I continue to participate in a Goodreads review group even though some of the reviewers tend to consistently give low ratings to everyone which I don’t understand. But now I’m getting a few spontaneous reviews, probably from KU or Goodreads. They vary quite a bit in star ratings and opinions but are generally positive so I’m happy with that.

The general takeaway is that you have to promote in some way - or nothing happens.

I’m trying to get a handle on book 2 - fighting with myself to get going.

The adventure continues...
 
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playground

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Congrats on the first royalty payment! Even more impressive is having 11 reviews, that's great! Having double-digit reviews already is great, especially when they are spontaneous ones. Is book two a new story or a sequel?
 

Lady Fox

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Hi sandree. Thanks for posting your journey so far. Congratulations on what you've achieved and best of luck going forward. It'll be my turn soon enough to self-pub my first novel and seeing how others approach it and what they take away from it is always inspiring and helpful.
 

sandree

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Book two will be in the same universe. Not exactly a sequel as the last one had all the ends tied up but lots of areas that can be expanded upon. I would like each book to be able to stand alone. I just have to figure out how to do that!
 

CathleenT

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I continue to participate in a Goodreads review group even though some of the reviewers tend to consistently give low ratings to everyone which I don’t understand.

Ha! Go look at the hatchet job one of them did on Bellerophon if you want company. We all agreed to avoid spoilers in our reviews. [Some text redacted for better discretion--someone could have possibly put the dots together to figure out who the reviewer was, and the OP has already read what I wrote and so hopefully feels like it's more the reviewer's problem and not hers].

I've done a LOT of rounds, Willow, (fourteen) and I've never had one this bad. I'm just going to avoid this reviewer in the future. :)

And if you'd like to cheer up, go read what other people think about his book. : )
 
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Random_Coffee

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Congrats Sandree! I hope you're doing well.

I've listened to and read a lot about self-pubbing and the one thing that stands out is: Keep writing.

Apparently the first book we put out there won't amount to a whole lot. We have to keep writing and by the 3rd or 4th book, our sales will start to climb.

Hopefully, we're in it for the long haul, as in years of writing. Don't be discouraged! Keep writing!
 

Auteur

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Congratulations on self-publishing your book, and on getting 11 reviews! That's a good start! :)
 

AgathaChristieFan

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Sandree, that’s really impressive getting 11 reviews already. I know what you mean about being proud of your first royalty check. May many more come your way :) I hope everything works out with you. How is book #2 coming along? Whenever I think of quitting writing, I remember it’s a marathon, not a race. It took me years for it finally to sink in
 

sandree

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Thanks for the encouragement, AgathaChristieFan. Book 2 is... well... I’m a little stuck right now so I’m reading a lot and starting to write daily pages to find a way to move forward. I trust my subconscious is working something out!
 

AgathaChristieFan

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That’s good that you have a system for writer’s block. I usually cave in for months until I just start writing again. Good luck with everything. You’ll start officially working on book #2 when you’re ready :)
 

sandree

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Well - I’ve gotten really good at giving away books. I did another free Amazon promo and it’s up to 400 books given away and my rank is #2 in free books in the three categories that show in my book listing. This happens every time - #1 or #2. But it is a momentary bump and I wonder how much it really does. True, it gets eyes on my book, Kindle Unlimited downloads and page reads, and readers who can spread the word and is probably why I have quite a few Goodreads rankings. So I am grateful for that.

Next KDP cycle I’m going to try a Countdown Deal - maybe I’ll make a few dollars on the downloads instead of all the freebies. If anyone has any Countdown Deal tips, I would appreciate hearing them.

I’m 17,000 words in on the second book. I was looking at my favorite authors (mostly female science fiction and fantasy) on this awesome website - https://www.fantasticfiction.com/. All of them had a tremendous catalog of books, short stories, anthologies etc. I need to learn how to loosen up and let the words flow!
 
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