February Sales Update

167,028 Books Sold

Totals are as of February 7, 2012 @ 10PM and do NOT include over 108,000 FREE downloads
(Amazon and B&N combined Sales)

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011 $2.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 298

April: 894
May: 1,600
June: 1,475
July: 1,291
August: 2,352
September: 1,955
October: 1,527
November: 981
December: 1,074
January: 1,457
February: 263*

Total: 15,167*

A Knight in Central Park- Released March 18, 2011 $.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 247
April: 6,071
May: 4,306
June: 2,414
July: 1,330
August: 9,812
September: 2,088
October: 1,348
November: 876
December: 2,383
January: 2,685
February: 303*

Total: 33,863*

Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Comedy

April: 30
May: 182
June: 265
July: 310
August: 934
September: 1,872
October: 2,125
November: 2,150
December: 1,561
January: 4,600
February: 289*


Total: 14,318*

Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense

May: 187
June: 261
July: 325
August: 1,159
September: 3,363
October: 2,089
November: 1,095
December: 4,421
January: 2,511
February: 254*

Total: 15,665*

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25
June: 694
July: 1,708
August: 12,917
September: 39,413
October: 18,176
November: 6,645
December: 3,649
January: 2,294
February: 303*

Total: 85,824*

Dead Weight - Released December 22, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

December:   451
January:    1,481
February:      259*

Total:       2,191*

*sales as of February 7, 2012 @ 10 PM (B&N and Amazon combined)

 

For more info on self-publishing, go to my LINKS tab.

As you can see, sales are starting to drop. I'm not worried because there is nothing I can do about it. Worrying won't help accomplish anything. I'm just going to keep writing and stay focused on writing the best books I can.

 

To read my review of Abducted by Kirkus Reviews go HERE.

Above, you'll see a spike in sales for Taming Mad Max and Finding Kate Huntley. I have put those two books in KDP's Prime Lending Program. Both books went free for 3 days and reaped the benefits after the 3 days were over. I plan to have each of my books in the prime lending program at least once for the three month period. I had over 1,500 borrows for two books in January and over 1,200 borrows for two books in December.

Try everything! Believe in yourself. Do not stress about making mistakes. If you decide to try the 90 day exclusive thing and it doesn't work for you, at least you tried it. Life is way too short. Go for it!

***

Brenda Hiatt is collecting data on independent publishing. Help her out by sharing your numbers so that we can all benefit. It's all done anonymously. Click HERE for more information.

If you are thinking about self-publishing, but don't know where to start when it comes to marketing, promotion and formatting, don't worry. There are so many helpful authors willing to share what they have learned. My advice to you is to join Indie Romance Ink run by Cate Rowan and Carly Carson. There are over 500 members. Many IRI members are traditionally published and have already self-published a book or two. Some members are undecided. All are welcome to join and learn.

Twice a month I share my number of books sold in hopes that these numbers might help other writers make their own decisions about self-publishing. Every writer has their own personal and unique journey. My hope is that I can inspire others out there who are working hard at their craft to NEVER GIVE UP. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Other authors who share numbers:

Lisa Mondello
Debra Holland
Norah Wilson
D.D. Scott
Trish McCallan and Jolyn Palliata

163,007 books sold in 10 months

January Sales Update II

Totals are as of January 24, 2012 @ 10PM and do NOT include 106,000 FREE downloads
(Amazon and B&N combined Sales)

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011 $2.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 298

April: 894
May: 1,600
June: 1,475
July: 1,291
August: 2,352
September: 1,955
October: 1,527
November: 981
December: 1,074
January: 1,173*

Total: 14,620*

A Knight in Central Park- Released March 18, 2011 $.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 247
April: 6,071
May: 4,306
June: 2,414
July: 1,330
August: 9,812
September: 2,088
October: 1,348
November: 876
December: 2,383
January: 2,343*

Total: 33,218*

Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Comedy

April: 30
May: 182
June: 265
July: 310
August: 934
September: 1,872
October: 2,125
November: 2,150
December: 1,561
January: 3,889*

Total: 13,318*

Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense

May: 187
June: 261
July: 325
August: 1,159
September: 3,363
October: 2,089
November: 1,095
December: 4,421
January: 2,192*

Total: 15,092*

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25
June: 694
July: 1,708
August: 12,917
September: 39,413
October: 18,176
November: 6,645
December: 3,649
January: 1,870*

Total: 85,097*

Dead Weight - Released December 22, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

December: 451
January:    1,211*

Total: 1,662*

*sales as of January 24, 2012 @ 10 PM (B&N and Amazon combined)

Exciting times.

My advice to any writer is to try it all. Go the traditional route and self-publish too. It's exciting to be an author and a publisher. I decide on cover art, editing, formatting. I do my own marketing and promotion. For more info on self-publishing, go to my LINKS tab.

I am very excited about my review of Abducted by Kirkus Reviews. Go HERE to read it. Above you'll see a spike in sales for Taming Mad Max and Finding Kate Huntley. I have put those two books in KDP's Prime Lending Program. Both books went free for 3 days and reaped the benefits after the 3 days were over. I plan to have each of my books in the prime lending program at least once for the three month period. As of today I have about 1,500 borrows for two books in January. Last month I had a total of over 1,200 borrows.   

Try everything! Believe in yourself. Do not stress about making mistakes. If you decide to try the 90 day exclusive thing and it doesn't work for you, at least you tried it. No Fear! You only live once.

The only one who is going to look out for you, is YOU. 

Be happy. Stay positive. Work hard and never ever give up on your dreams.

***

Brenda Hiatt is collecting data on independent publishing. Help her out by sharing your numbers so that we can all benefit. It's all done anonymously. Click HERE for more information.

If you are thinking about self-publishing, but don't know where to start when it comes to marketing, promotion and formatting, don't worry. There are so many helpful authors willing to share what they have learned. My advice to you is to join Indie Romance Ink run by Cate Rowan and Carly Carson. There are over 500 members. Many IRI members are traditionally published and have already self-published a book or two. Some members are undecided. All are welcome to join and learn.

Twice a month I share my number of books sold in hopes that these numbers might help other writers make their own decisions about self-publishing. Every writer has their own personal and unique journey. My hope is that I can inspire others out there who are working hard at their craft to NEVER GIVE UP. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Other authors who share numbers:

Lisa Mondello
Debra Holland http://www.drdebraholland.blogspot.com/
Norah Wilson http://www.norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/
D.D. Scott http://ddscottville.blogspot.com/p/wg2e.html
Trish McCallan and Jolyn Palliata http://totaltransparencyselfpublishing.wordpress.com/

Meet Norah Wilson!

I’ve been reading romance my whole life, but I was 35 before I tried writing it. It looked easy, but I quickly learned it was anything but. I joined RWA, studied the craft, and in 2001 finalled in RWA’s Golden Heart contest. I repeated that feat in 2002 and 2003. I then won the New Voice in Romance contest and got published (LAUREN’S EYES, 2004). I now have nine self-published titles, some written with writing partner Heather Doherty. I live in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, with my husband, two adult kids, a rottie-lab mix and numerous rats (the pet kind).

Did you ever want to quit writing? Why or why not?

It was a long road to publication, but I always knew that if I persevered, it would happen. And it did. But there was at least one time when I was severely tempted to quit. I think it was after my third Golden Heart final. I was able to get agents and editors to read my stuff, no problem, but I was always just missing the target. I was so incredibly discouraged. My inner monologue went something like this: “I can’t write a better book that this. If New York doesn’t want this, I’m never going to sell a book.” Let me tell you, it was terrifying, contemplating walking away. Admitting defeat. I was in a black funk for days. But then one morning, my stubbornness reasserted itself and I was back. I could write a better book. Just watch me!

What are your writing career goals? (i.e. to write 2 books a year? To hit the NY Bestsellers List? To sell 100 books a month?)

At this stage of my life, I want to make writing my full time job. I’ve never had that luxury before, but self-publishing has really changed the landscape for me. That said, given how quickly the industry has been transformed in the last 18 months, I’m not even going to try to predict what tomorrow might bring.

Have you truly mastered grammar and sentence structure? Do you feel 100% confident about every comma in your book?

I’m no grammarian, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I don’t strive to sound like a grammarian. I strive to sound like a cop or a cowboy or a 200-year-old vampire or a lawyer or a nurse. J Seriously, I think my mastery is adequate to the task, or so my agent says.

How many pages do you think you could write in one day if you had zero interruptions from 8 AM to 8 PM?

Oh, wow! An uninterrupted 12 hour stretch…. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those. I think I could probably produce maybe 20-25 pages, as long as they’re not the first pages. Beginnings take me forever! I have to get off on the right track or nothing works. If I’m nearing the end of the book, I tend to write faster. It’s like I’m going downhill. J

How do you think (take a guess) writers like Nora Roberts write so many books in a year?

Not just books – great books. It just boggles my mind. Presuming she hasn’t managed to clone herself, I imagine she does it with a lot of hard work, discipline and sacrifice.

What would be easier for you to write, a sex scene or a murder scene?

Oh, I love writing both! But if I have to pick, I’ll take the sex scene. The murder scene strikes me as more a part of the external plot, the thing you need to have happen to trigger (ha!) your story question. Whereas the sex scene (love scene) is more about the internal journey. I do incorporate sex in my books, and those scenes tend to be very sensual. However, they’re never gratuitous. When my characters have sex, something always changes about the dynamics of their relationship. Bonds are being forged, characters transformed. Luckily, it doesn’t happen all at once, which gives me lots of chances to write sex scenes. <g> Also, I like to turn the tenderness quotient up as those intimate bonds are tightened.

If you were allowed to have only ONE book (of yours) for sale on Amazon and B&N, which book would you select? Why do you think readers might enjoy it?

Oh, what a cruel, cruel question! That’s like being asked to pick between your children. But I’ll do it. ,-) If I could leave but one story up, I think it would be Guarding Suzannah. It’s the first in my Serve and Protect series and features Detective John (Quigg) Quigley and criminal defense attorney Suzannah Phelps. John may be one of the least macho guys I’ve ever written, but I love his steady strength and protective nature, and he was tailor-made for Suzannah. I adore their love story. But I’d pick that one for another reason – I chose that book to immortalize my own beloved Bandicoot. Bandy was my constant companion, following me from room to room and lying at my feet as I wrote for 11 years. I gave him life again in this book. And I promise, the eccentricities displayed by the fictional Bandy are not exaggerations.

Any advice for new writers just getting started?

Learn the craft. Put in your apprenticeship. They say you  need to write a million words before you’re proficient, and I think that’s about right. Today, you can slap your first book up at Smashwords and Amazon with very little trouble. The issue is, should you? For most of us, in retrospect, that would be a resounding, God, no! Unfortunately, new writers are not the best judges of their own work. I know I sure wasn’t. Every time I finished a manuscript, I was proud of it. I truly felt it was the best work I could produce. And it was, with the skill level I had at the time. If Smashwords had been available then, maybe I’d have self-published those early works (shudder). I submit that If you haven’t spent a number of years studying your craft, critiquing and being critiqued, entering contests and addressing judges’ comments, maybe you’re not ready. If you’re not getting positive feedback from agents or editors on near misses, maybe you’re not ready. But if you’re determined to publish sooner rather than later, you  might want to invest in some professional editing. Future you will thank you.


Thank you, Norah!

Thanks for having me, Theresa. It’s been a blast!

Website:              http://norahwilsonwrites.com

My blog:              http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/

Twitter:                https://twitter.com/#!/norah_wilson

Facebook:           http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1053773212

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Norah-Wilson/e/B001HCZ14A

Smashwords:     http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/norahwilson

Goodreads:        http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1361508.Norah_Wilson

http://www.amazon.com/Guarding-Suzannah-Serve-Protect-ebook/dp/B003ZK5KS4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321626657&sr=1-1