To Select - Second Free Run Results

A few weeks ago, I decided that, given the success of my first free run with Amazon's Select program, I'd give it another shot. Being a bit of a pessimist, I was more than a little apprehensive about doing it again. I'd had pretty good success on my first run, but would lightning strike twice for the same book? I learned a lot from my own experience and those of my fellow authors who keep a running thread of stats over on the Kindleboards. There's enough statistics on going free over there to drive you up a wall and back down. My first run had been a single day and was on a Saturday. This meant that the magical 2-3 day post-free sales bump occurred between Monday and Tuesday. My theory was that a free run that occurred on a mid-week day would then land the bump on the weekend, closer to the time when I figured more people would be buying.

I scheduled my second free day on February 22nd. I notified a slew of websites over a week in advance. There are really only two that matter; pixelofink.com (POI) and ereadernewstoday.com (ENT). POI and ENT are bastions of freebie-loving readers. Each site has 200,000+ loyal followers on Facebook and their legend among indie authors grows. They post free books throughout the day on their blogs and Facebook. To be included in these posts can mean the difference between giving away 1,000 and 10,000 copies. And, that can mean the difference between selling 2 dozen copies post-free and selling 200. In my first run, which was only a day, I only managed to have one site mention me, but it was still all I needed for a great 1-day total. I thought, this time, I'm much more prepared. But, there was still the unknown element of going free with the same book for a second time. I'd not heard any results and had no evidence that it would be as successful as the first time.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I was a bit dismayed. At 7 AM I had apparently only given away 5 copies. It was more of a slow start than I'd expected. Of course, being home sick from work that day (really!) was of no help...as I was able to watch the numbers on an almost constant basis. By 3 PM, the numbers were respectable and actually better than my first run at the same time: 1181 "freeloads" in the US. My UK and DE numbers were much weaker this go round. I have no explanation for that, except that maybe the Brits and Germans keep their book buying for the weekends. I got picked up by ENT that evening, but by 8:30 PM, I knew my day was not going to be as successful as my first run: 2722. At that point, I had yet to break into the Top 100 Free books on Amazon, something I had determined to be an important milestone. I made an executive decision that night. I was going to add another day and remain free through Thursday. By Friday morning at 3 AM ET, when the switch back to paid should have occurred, I'd given away 6970 copies and stood at #90 in the Top 100 Free. I'd actually been as high as #57 earlier in the day, but the onslaught of new freebies had pushed me down. I was satisfied, but not really thrilled that it had essentially taken two days to do what one had done last time. The best moment had been the realization that someone in France decided to download my book for free; a first for me to have anything from that store.

Now, the last time I'd gone back to paid status, the sales came in fairly quickly. There was no lag. I didn't see a flood of sales, but it had moved along nicely that first day (a Sunday) before really picking up between Monday and Tuesday that week. I made it as high as #742 on the Top Paid list at one point and finished consecutive days in the 800s. Well, I watched my sales number throughout the day and got scared. It barely moved. One sale...maybe two. I thought, the magic is gone. I had been a one and done. The Amazon algorithms had changed and I'd just given away 7000 books for nothing. Then, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that patience was a virtue when it came to this game. Saturday came and all was right with the world. By 7 PM Saturday evening, I'd sold 60 copies and had 5 borrows. On Sunday, I climbed to my highest rank of #1,831 overall paid. Not as high as last time, but not too shabby. It stinks being in a category like Suspense. Lots of competition...lots of good competition (on any given day, the worst book in the Top 100 in Suspense is #1400 overall in the entire store; other categories, some of the more obscure ones mind you, can have folks who are ranked as high as #20,000).

Not sure if this is legible as is, but it's supposed to show my last month of sales activity. Click to enlarge.

It's now Tuesday night and I've been back to paid for 5 days. I've sold a total of 169 copies and had 13 borrows in the US. I've had no paid sales in the UK this time round and saw very little action at all in the German store. Nowhere near as successful as my first attempt, but I still consider it a success. Still sold more books in five days than all of last year, so there must be something to this. I've now sold 377 copies of my book in the month of February and have 73 borrows. That follows up 201 and 12, respectively, in January. 578 and 85...not too shabby. Sure, I had to give away 14,000 copies, but c'mon!

Things I've learned:

1. A POI or ENT mention is critical to success. It's as simple as that. Yes, you might reach a few thousand "freeloads" without them, but to really get the big push, you need their quick access to heavy firepower. Hundreds of thousands of readers all itching to pick up free books...even if they never intend to read them. I think POI needs upwards of 3 weeks' advance notice now...and even that may not guarantee you a spot. I've given them 4 weeks for my next free day.

2. Reaching the Top 100 Free is a necessity. If you're close and you were only going free for a day, book a second day so you get there. If you're already there on your first day, keep going! The higher you climb free, the more you'll get into the Amazon algorithms and, subsequently, the more you'll be seen afterward.

3. There is little you can do to control what happens on your free day. Just roll with it. What happens happens. It's not a personal affront to you or your book...really. Deep breaths. Remember, you have 5 free days and after 90 days, you can get out of Select if you're really not that happy with it.

4. There is nothing more addicting than having the ability to see your sales updated in real time. It's an awful, wonderful, horribly fascinating and terrifying thing, but you already knew that.

5. Everyone has a different experience. Some folks have gone free and struggled to give away 500 books one time, then turned around and gave away 5000 their next. It's a process. Give it a chance. Be patient with it if you can. It can and has worked for many.

So far, I'm happy with the Select system. It's worked for me. I think it's the ideal mechanism for promoting a first-in-series book. But, at the same time, I don't think I'll be enrolling books 2 and 3 in the trilogy. We'll see though. Now that I have two runs under my belt, I'm trying to apply everything I know for the last free run of my first Select 90 days. I'll keep you posted. ;)

To Select or To Not Select, That's the Question

So, Amazon's self-publishing arm, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), recently announced a new feature for self-publishers called KDP Select. To say that it's created a bit of a stir in the self-publishing world is an understatement.

It presents indie authors with a bit of a double-edged proposition. In order to "join the club", you must make your book exclusive to Kindle for 90 days (ie, it cannot appear anywhere else in any form...including teasers on your own web site). In return, your book will be made available through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library for US Amazon Prime members for "free." (Prime members pay $79 a year for expedited shipping and other perks). Authors will also have an opportunity to set their price to $0 for five days every 90 days (while some books are currently free on Amazon, it's only accomplished through "tricking" the system and putting your book free through another distributor. The new setup will allow authors to set the price to $0 right through the KDP manager).

So, what's the hook? A share of half a million dollars a month. Authors' cut of the share is based on how many loans their book(s) gets. Amazon's example is a bit conservative, in my estimates: "...if the monthly fund amount is $500,000 and the total qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles is 100,000 in December and if your book was borrowed 1,500 times, you will earn 1.5% (1,500/100,000 = 1.5%), or $7,500..."

But, you're not gaining anything by letting your book go essentially for free, you say? Not quite. You see, borrows are now being incorporated into the Amazon ranking algorithm. So, though you may not see increased sales, any "free" borrows will push you up in the rankings (which, theoretically, would lead to more exposure, borrows, sales, etc). Conversely, it means that if you're book is NOT in the program, you're not only fighting sales of other books, but the added weight of borrows against your book's ranking.

Tempting, no? Like a good number of self-published authors, I have cast my book's net as far as possible. I have uploaded my book to Amazon, B&N, and the multi-platform distributor Smashwords for the other ebook fish (eg, iPad, Kobo, Sony). However, when it comes down to actual sales (like a good number of self-pubbed authors as well), I have received the most sales through Amazon. Here's how the numbers break down for my ebook sales after 6 months on the market:

• Amazon - 77.9%
• Apple - 10.3%*
• B&N - 8.3%
• Smashwords - 2.0%
• Kobo - 0.7%*
• Sony - 0.7%*

*May be higher, but reporting is monthly at best

Now, comes the question that many indies are faced with. Do I give up that ~20% of sales produced by the other channels for 90 days to try and grab a piece of the Amazon carrot? To be honest, the only channel I'm loathe to give up is the Apple one. As much a I'm a fan of B&N, they've done little to spur the kind of interest in indies that amazon has. Whereas, Apple hasn't quite got a hold of the potential clout they have with the iBookstore. They could probably be a major player in the ebook world if they just got their act together and cared about it, but therein lies the rub. They'll probably never invest the time and energy required, simply because it's not the game they want to play. They're only in it because the game came to them.

At the moment, my answer has been to not do anything. If the process of removing my book from the various sales channels was an easy one, I might have jumped on the band wagon. However, because it can be a bit convoluted and slow to pull books back from Kobo and Sony, it might be January before I'd be "let into the club." But, with my sequel on the horizon (the slowly developing Divisible by Six), I will have to seriously consider my options. By then, the results from the December kickoff will be in and we'll have some numbers to consider.

But, besides the consideration of whether it will be a financial boon or not, we may need to consider whether we, as self-pubbed authors, are fueling the desires of a machine bent on monopolizing an industry. Yep, I said it. And, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone. Sure, you're only giving exclusivity for 90 days, but what comes next? How much money will it take for authors to completely forego all other outlets and remain exclusive to Amazon? Some have already taken the bait. How many authors might just not bother to put their books back up on other channels after their 90 days is up? It's a subversive move, and akin to a recent move that some US retailers are openly calling ruthless. Is it ok because "everyone else is doing it" and "I don't want to be the one that missed out"? Last time I checked, those were pretty lame excuses. Perhaps we all really need to take a step back and consider the possible consequences of our actions.

Comments? Thoughts? Ideas? I know you've got 'em. Would love to hear 'em.

Sales Boost

Had to throw out a quick shout out to the Kindle Lovers blog (http://thekindle3books.com/). There had been some comments over on the KindleBoards regarding this site, so I decided to try it out. They were offering a free posting in return for a link to their site. Fair enough, right? So, I posted thir link (in the left sidebar I believe) and sent them my info. No response, but I didn't think anything of it. Recently, I had some issues with my Kindle Publishing account, so I wasn't checking my numbers. Finally had it resolved last night and went in this morning. I thought it was a glitch! I had been having a horrible month. Somehow, I'd sold 34 copies in 24 hours...and was ranked at #4134...

My highest ranking ever to date, and by far the most I'd ever sold in a day. I then went over to the UK site and found this...

Sweet, right? My UK rank actually improved during the day as I sold 1 more copy there. My US ranking has since slid, which I knew it would, but what a rush! I've got a paid position coming out tomorrow and I'm thinking it couldn't have been timed better. If I do well enough, I might actually push into the top 100 in suspense/thriller, which is not an easy feat. I think I need to get down below #2k though. Lots of competition.

I've since heard that they are backlogged for the moment. No surprise. Once word hits the streets that something is working, it isn't unknown for long. ;)

"Awards", 7 Things About Me, and Month 2 Sales Figures

I've got a lot to say tonight, but none were worthy of their own separate post. ;)

"AWARDS!"

I received two blogger awards (buttons) today from the lovely Jessica Therrien. Be sure to swing by her blog and show her some love. She's taking part in Rachel Harrie's Platform-Building Campaign. If you didn't already see my flash fiction piece, it was written for the Campaign.

The first of the two awards I received is the dreaded...I mean...the lovable Liebster Blog Award. This blog award goes to awesome writing bloggers with fewer 200 followers (it's NOT a sign of failure...really).

As a recipient, I now get to spread the loveable Liebster to a few of my commendable colleagues. Therefore, I bequeath the Liebster award to the following 5:

1. S.B. Jones

2. Marina Scott

3. Jacques Antoine

4. J.R. Tomlin

5. Brent Nichols

Be sure you swing by and show them some like/follow love.

Awardees, don't forget to:

1. Show your appreciation to the blogger who gave you the award (that's me) by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Bask in the camaraderie of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers.
5. And best of all—have blog­gity fun and spread the love.


The second is the "Versatile Blogger" award!

I am passing along this award to the following 10 cool writerly bloggers (in no particular order):

1. Tiffany Lovering

2. Sarah Wedgbrow

3. Jocelyn Rish

4. Kristan Hoffman

5. Alyssa Rose Ivy

6. David M. Brown

7. Jen Kirchner

8. Ty Johnston

9. Cheney Giordano

10. Katie Dodge

Awardees, don't forget to:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award (that's me again) and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself (see mine below).
3. Pass this Award along to 10 recently discovered or favorite blogs and let them know about it.

7 Things About Me

1. My pseudonym, Andy Rane, is a combination of my middle name (Andrew) and my last name (Mulraney).

2. I played the lead role in a musical, Trial by Jury, in college. I was originally the understudy, but had to step in when the lead quit with two weeks to go.

3. I studied creative writing in college with Pulitzer-prize winning poet, Stephen Dunn.

4. My wife and I were born on the same day, same year (should have been same hospital, but my mother's doctor was an hour away).

5. I'm a senior copy editor for a pharmacetical advertising agency.

6. I have an irrational fear (ie, phobia) of lightning.

7. I experienced night terrors (not to be confused with nightmares) as a child; from 6 months until the age of 14.

Month 2 Sales Results

Well, it was bound to happen. Month #2 for most new writers tends to be a bit slower, as you move away from all of the purchases from people you know and you start relying on...well..."real" buyers. Combine that with a relatively slow ebook month (from what I've heard) and my sales were pretty slim.

Amazon US - 8
Amazon UK - 1
Amazon Paperback - 3
Amazon DE - 0
B&N - 2
Smashwords - 0
Total - 14

So, yeah...14 is a bit of a drop off after 40 the first month. But, I've seen nothing but good reviews so far and it's not a sprint...just have to keep reminding myself of that. There are a few things I see happening over the next couple of months that should drive sales one way or the other. On October 1st, I'm taking part in a book festival. I'll be selling autographed paperback copies of my book and advertising my ebook at the Collingswood Book Festival in Collingswood, NJ (just over the river from Philadelphia, PA). If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out! The holiday season is also coming up and it's expected to be the biggest year yet for new ereader owners. I'm hoping to have my sequel to Multiples ready by the time all those new owners are tearing the wrapping paper open on Christmas day. If not that soon, then shortly thereafter. I've got a lot of work to do.

As always, be sure to stop back by the blog on Mondays and Thursdays for my feature, The Same Six Questions, where you get to meet independent authors of all types!

Sales Results After 1 Month

With the 1st Month Anniversary of my book launch upon us, I thought I'd throw out some numbers from the last 30 days. As an indie author, I know I've always been curious to see how others are doing, even before I was published. Now, I'm equally curious (and sometimes jealous) to see where others stand.

Let me tell you, it's been an emotional 30 days. There is nothing quite like putting your heart and soul (ie, book) out into the public eye. So far, Multiples has received great reviews (AMZ: 3 US, 1 UK [all 5 stars]; B&N: 1 [4 stars]) and many inquiries into the whereabouts of book 2 (Divisible by Six, which is set to launch by mid-January at the latest). Because it's so easy to track sales, I must admit I've become a bit obsessed. I'm trying to ween myself down from checking every hour, but it's so darned easy! Curse you Amazon! However, despite some authors' totals I've seen in the past, I have not been so obsessive to write down a daily tally.

Here are my totals as of 8/17 at 7:30 AM:

Amazon US: 27
Amazon UK: 1
Amazon DE: 0
Amazon Paperback: 1
B&N: 8
Smashwords: 3 paid, 39 free

Grand total: 40 paid, 39 free.

The freebies through Smashwords were part of a giveaway done through LibraryThing.com in an attempt to garner reviews. I made 50 ebook copies available and had ~75 people sign up. I had a review appear on LibraryThing today due to the giveaway and though it's 5 stars, I'm not sure I trust the source. It's certainly not one I'd wish to see on Amazon (it's vague and full of typos). But, exposure is exposure, right? ;)

So, what does this all mean? Not much, really. I know the majority of the folks who have purchased my book, as I'm sure happens with most first-time authors. But, I've been really surprised by the response I've had from folks I don't know personally. I must be doing something right 'cause folks seem to be entertained by my writing. And that's all I've ever really hoped for.

Now, I've got to put this launch behind me and focus on book 2. Folks seem much more keen to purchase a book that already has a sequel out than otherwise. A lot less waiting.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out my autographed paperback copy giveaway on GoodReads.com!