Got Book?

If you are thinking about self-publishing, here are a few great places to start.

AUTHOR E.M.S. - ENTREPRENEUER.MANAGEMENT.SOLUTIONS

BUSINESS RESOURCES FOR AUTHORS

Authors today are faced with a changing industry, evolving technology and growing competition. Tired of trying to find all the answers on your own? We're here to help. Author E.M.S. is a growing online community designed to help you streamline your business time without sacrificing the creative artist within.

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INDIE ROMANCE INK

New members must be ***ROMANCE WRITERS*** who have self-published or are indie-curious. We're a genre-focused group by and for romance authors, and we do not allow self-promo. Author service providers and other industry professionals are welcome as long as they are ALSO romance writers.

If you are not a romance writer, consider the Indie Authors Forum The IAF admits writers of all genres as well as industry professionals.

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WG2E - TIPS, RESOURCES, REAL NUMBERS AND NEWS

E-Publishing is here to stay. We’re here to provide answers to all your E-Publishing questions. We’re using real numbers, real data, and real examples from our experiences. Sit down, settle in, and breathe in the future.

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If you want to see what I did when I first self-published click on the LINKS tab on the top of my site or click HERE.

I first self-published in March of 2011. Not every writer who self-publishes is going to sell a million books. They might not even sell a hundred books. If you are serious about being a writer, though, and you put in the hours and the time and you refuse to release any book that isn't the best it can be, then I believe you have as good a chance as anyone of being a success. 

Be a positive force. Enjoy your journey. Believe in yourself.  

MONEY TALK

For nearly two decades I wrote nearly every day, but I didn't make one dime. Self-publishing has changed all that. Come join me on WG2E today where we're talking about money!

"The very best thing I ever did was realizing that my books are a PRODUCT and I am BUSINESS WOMAN. Last December I made a twenty-three page business plan. I realized that I could actually make real money selling my books. I came up with an amount of money I wanted to make each month ($6000) and how many books I had to sell to make that happen. Instead of just putting out books whenever I got them done, I planned release dates. I have my editors booked through the end of 2012. I have firm, hard dates that I hand my manuscripts over. I work very, very hard. I have high expectations for myself and my work output. My business comes before a lot of things in my life, but I've never been happier."

--Denise Grover Swank, bestselling author of The Chosen series.

Release Day!

On March 27, 2012, after 19 crazy years of trying my damndest to get published, I signed my first publishing agreement with Thomas & Mercer. Today, July 17, 2012, the first two books in my Lizzy Gardner thriller series have been re-released. Abducted and Dead Weight have been newly edited and T&M has come up with some great new covers! Book 3 in the Lizzy Gardner Series will be published in 2013.

Thank you to my editor, Alan Turkus, for making the entire process super enjoyable. And thanks to all of the people at Amazon and CreateSpace for all of the amazing opportunities they have provided me.





I also want to thank over 300,000 readers for not only reading my books, but for taking the time to leave reviews and email me.

So much has happened since I first self-published 16 months ago. It's been a crazy, wonderful ride. I now have dreams of reaching millions of readers and someday hitting the NY Times and/or USA Today Bestsellers Lists. I know that if I continue to work hard and write the best books I can, anything is possible.

Dream big, work hard, and enjoy the journey while you’re at it!

Meet Caroline Fyffe!

I’m an equine photographer turned western historical romance author.  I have to say I think I’ve had two of the most enjoyable jobs a person can have.  I’ve spent 20 years photographing horses at horse shows and farm shoots, and now I get to write about them.  What could be better?  I’m married and have two amazing sons, of whom I’m very proud.  My oldest has recently earned an MBA and landed a good job—double yay in this economy.  My youngest is still in college and also a United States Army Reservist.  He returned home from Iraq on 11/11/11! How amazing is that?  A mother could not be prouder.

How many pages do you think you could write in a day with zero interruptions from 8am to 8pm?

It’s been years since I’ve counted pages.  I go by word count and work to get something like 1,000 or 2,000 a day.  I usually end up somewhere in-between.  I play a game with myself where I set a goal to reach with the time I have.  I break it down by hour and minutes.  I know I have to write X amount of words each ten minutes to attain the goal by 5 pm—that’s when I go down and watch the news.  I start at 7am and work until about 11:30am, take a break and trudge to the basement where I run on my treadmill, then back at it an hour later.

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

Actually, I did quit.  From about 2002 until about 2006 I stopped writing and submitting.  I guess I was discouraged.  But, as time went by, I found I was unhappy and decided I’d start back up with the intent on submitting to contests—nothing else. (I really liked contests. LOL) It was barely a year after I started again I got a request from winning the 2008 TARA and was offered a publishing contract.

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?)

All of the above!  A girl can dream, can’t she? In addition to those, I’d LOVE to see WHERE THE WIND BLOWS as a movie.  A good western—with handsome cowboys, beautiful horses—cattle and of course, a spit fire heroine, is hard not to love on the screen.  In that same vein, The McCutcheons are just itching for a weekly TV show on Lifetime.  LOL I believe one may as well dream big!

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

For one, it’s their job.  But in addition, I think a writer gets faster with each book as she gains confidence in her abilities.  Insecurity in what we’re writing, or how we’re doing it, is what slows us down.  Those amazing authors have shown to themselves that they can do it—and that what they write is gold.  Each morning they just sit down and go for it!

Any advice for a new writer getting started?

Enjoy what you do.  Smile while you write.  Make friends with other writers. Get in a support group. Be courteous. Pat yourself on the back with your successes.  Comfort yourself when disappointments come. Know that very few people can do what you do. Never give up. Know life is short. Believe in yourself, your message.  And remember—no one can write the book that’s in your heart better than you can….     

Thanks for joining me today, Caroline! Years ago, Caroline and I were critique partners and then later we became brainstorming partners. We have shared many ups and downs and lots of laughs over the years. We have also roomed together at RWA conferences and shopped for clothes before conference. Caroline is as sweet as her books.

For more information about Caroline, you can find her at:

Caroline's Website/Blog
Twitter
Facebook

October Sales Update #2

TOTAL BOOKS SOLD: 122,611

 

Totals are as of 10/26/11 @ 8PM and do not include 25,000 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: 1,332*

Total:   11,197

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:  1,188*

Total:   27,456

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: 1,742*

Total:   5,335

Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense

May: 187

June: 261

July: 325

August: 1,159

September: 3,363
October: 1,889*

Total:   7,184

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25

June: 694

July: 1,708

August: 12,917

September: 39,413
October: 16,682*

Total:  71,439

*sales as of 10/26/11 @ 8 PM (B&N and Amazon combined)

Nothing new over here, except to say that seven months later, I can still say that becoming an indie author has been an amazing experience. Recently I was interviewed at Indie Reader. Fun!

As far as promotion and marketing, I love free sites like Digital Books Today. Anthony Wessel is friendly and helpful. "The staff at Digital Book Today is currently a group of 4 who all have either worked in the book industry and/or have been avid bookreaders all of our lives." How cool is that?

And don't forget The Romance Reviews, Eye on Romance, Pixel of Ink and The Frugal Ereader. I will try to list more advertising sites on my next update.  

If you decide to self-publish and don't know where to start when it comes to marketing and promotion, or even 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 400 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 plan to share my number of books sold in hopes that these numbers might help other writers make their own decisions about self-publishing.

 

I hope these numbers help to answer questions. What sort of spikes and/or drops will the holidays bring? How will the release of the $79 kindle affect sales? What genre will sell best in December? Will a new release take away from current sales or bring me new readers? Will sales go up and down based on the number of new kindle users peaking and then dropping? Does one genre consistently sell better than another or will my time travel romances out sell romantic comedy over the holidays?

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.

Genre? Pricing? Luck?

Nobody really knows why one book sells better than others. Publishers and analysts have been studying the market and gathering data for years, but they don't know what the next big thing will be until the next big thing strikes like lightning, taking most by surprise. Time Travels, Vampires, Cozy Mysteries...what's the next big thing in books?

I don't know the answer, but for the first time in many years, I don't really care. I can write a story that appeals to me, knowing MY audience is just like me. They want something fresh and new, without formulas. They want to escape. They want to be entertained.

Want to be inspired? Read about Kathryn Stockett's refusal to give up on her book, THE HELP. Read the story HERE.

Below are my sales as of 8/7/2011. I rounded down, so numbers are not exact.

My romantic thriller, ABDUCTED, is my best-seller. Return of the Rose and A Knight in Central Park, both medieval time travels are second and third as far as number of books sold per day right now. My romantic comedy and romantic suspense are tied for fourth place and I have high hopes for both.

What does all of this tell me?  KEEP WRITING! :)

Return of the Rose, Medieval Time Travel; 94,000 words $2.99

March 2, 2011 thru August 7, 2011 - 5,700 books sold


A Knight in Central Park, Medieval Time Travel; 86,000 words $.99

March 18, 2011 thru August 7, 2011 - 14,550 books sold


Taming Mad Max, Romantic Comedy; 82,500 words $2.99

April 25, 2011 thru August 7, 2011 -  860 books sold


Finding Kate Huntley, Romantic Suspense; 82,000 words  $2.99

May 5, 2011 thru August 7, 2011 - 860 books sold


ABDUCTED by T.R. Ragan - Romantic Thriller; 93,000 words  $2.99

May 29, 2011 thru August 7, 2011 - 2,950 books sold

TOTAL books sold (Amazon and B&N) as of 8/7/11 - 24, 920 books in 23 weeks

Sales Update

This is for those of you who like to see what's happening with other writers. Amanda Hocking wrote a post for her blog in December 2010 showing her sales. It's fun to look at and it gives us writers something to shoot for. Here is the link to Amanda's post: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2010/12/pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html  You can feel her excitement in her post.

And on a less grand scale, but no less exciting for me, here are my sales thus far.

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011    $2.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March:     253
April:       879
May:     1,595
June:    1,460 

A Knight in Central Park - Released March 18, 2011   $.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March:    265
April:    6,017
May:     4,282
June:    2,383

Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011  $2.99
Romantic Comedy

April:      30
May:     182
June:    264

Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011   $2.99
Romantic Suspense

May:      184
June:     256

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011   $2.99
Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May:        24
June:     696

Total Books sold for March, April, May and June = *18,770

*On July 9th I hit 20,000, but I am not including July sales here. I am selling about 150 books a day.

By the end of the year I am hoping that I'll be able to make some sort of judgment as far as what genre sells the best for me. Right now (looking at my July sales so far) it looks like romantic/thrillers are the way to go. But Return of the Rose seems to be rising in sales and is keeping up with Abducted, so who knows. Either way, I'll keep you posted.

I am working on my second romantic comedy and then I plan on finishing my third medieval time travel before Christmas, 2011. After that, I plan to finish my second romantic thriller which I can hardly wait to get back to!

Let me know if you have any questions.

My Second Interview

T.R. Ragan, author of ABDUCTED, discusses her book, her journey as a writer, and self-publishing on Kindle. http://tinyurl.com/4yok2ay


Come leave a comment at Kindle Author if you get a chance!

Talking Money - Part II

From B&N I get an exact amount of # of books and $ owed as the books are sold. With Amazon, it's all accumulative and I don't want to make it sound more complicated than it is...but some of the $2.99 books earn 35% through the UK, etc., so it's not a matter of just multiplying number of books by a certain amount. It depends on WHERE the books sold. Also, if you move your prices up and down (I'm trying that with Taming Mad Max right now) that makes it harder to determine exact amount you earn for that month until you get the monthly KDP transaction report. I don’t have the report for May from Amazon. I believe it will show up before the 15th.

Now for $$$ amounts...

March, 2011: I SOLD my VERY FIRST BOOK on Amazon about seven days after I released it, then I put out the second book at $.99 and within days both books were selling really great.

Amazon:   $524

B&N:         $157

April, 2011: I was already thrilled with sales (over 100 books a day) and then on April 12th, Pixel of Ink pushed my rankings from 2,500 to #68. Both books have been selling great ever since.

Amazon:  $3,524

B&N:         $469

May, 2011: I released Taming Mad Max on 4/25 and Finding Kate Huntley on 5/6. So I had 4 books out for most of May.

Amazon:   $5,300

B&N:         $320

June, 2011: I released ABDUCTED (5/30). 5 books out in June and these amounts are for 5 days.

Amazon:  $1,150

B&N:         $80

GRAND TOTAL $11,528 in about 12 weeks.

Weeks before self-publishing, I was looking through the want ads for a job and trying to decide what type of work I was going to do now that my youngest child was going off to college. Financially, I had known the day would come when I would need to go back to work full time, but with the economy and other factors, the pressure was on more than ever. From the beginning, I wrote every day and I never stopped writing or learning the craft...because I wanted to be able to do this for a living. This was never a hobby to me. My passion was and is writing. It's all I want to do. It's all a lot of writers want to do.

But at the beginning of 2011 I truly thought my time was up. I had tried and failed...because as much as I just wanted to write…financially my husband and I knew that I had to go back to work. In February, 2011, thinking I was going back to get a "real" job, I decided to put my medieval time travels out there...I had nothing to lose at this point. I never for a moment thought about the $. It was more like, okay, the gig is up. Time for me to get a "real" job so I might as well throw the books out there and see if anyone else likes them as much as I do.

And then a miracle.

The books started selling and my life literally changed overnight.

19 years and suddenly...BOOM. I'm selling books, getting fan letters, and making $. For the first time in my 19 years of writing, I realize I just might get to WRITE for a living! How cool is that?

I'm still pinching myself.

One more thing about the money. How much would I have received in advance money for these books? Seriously? When I first started writing I was hoping for a $10,000 advance. A year ago, I would have taken $1,000.

If my two time travels alone bring in $2,000 to $3,000 a month, that would be $14,000 to $21,000 at the end of 2011, not counting the $11,500 I’ve already earned.

If this keeps up, I could potentially make over $7,000 a month. The sky is the limit.

At this point, though, I just want to write. I don't even want to look at the dollar amounts which is why I have to figure it all out everytime someone asks me for a dollar amount. I want to sit at my desk and write books that make me smile. And it looks like that's what I'm going to get to do and I feel blessed and lucky and happy.

If this had happened 19 years ago, I have a feeling it wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying.

One more thing...I still see blog posts out there saying self-published books suck. That's silly. It's like saying all doctors suck or all Chihuahua's shiver (mine doesn't). Not all traditionally published books are great. Not all self-published books are great. Not all doctors suck. And every Chihuahua in the world doesn't shiver. 

IF you are going to take the time to publish your book, send it to someone who knows how to edit. Spell-checker isn't going to do the job.

More than that...I say believe in yourself. Dream big. Write the books of your heart. Never give up. That's what really matters.

More Sales Numbers for the Curious

These sales numbers are from 5/1/11 thru 5/18/11. A total of 18 days.


A Knight in Central Park, time-travel romance (released on 3/18/11 and offered at $.99)

Amazon:    2,662
B&N:             187

Return of the Rose, time-travel romance (released on 3/2/11 and offered at $2.99)

Amazon:     854
B&N:             51

Taming Mad Max, romantic comedy (released on 4/25/11 and offered at $2.99)

Amazon:      93
B&N:              8

Finding Kate Huntley, romantic suspense (released on 5/6/11 and offered at $2.99) 12 days for FKH.

Amazon:     60
B&N:             2

The reason I think these numbers might be helpful to other writers is because we can all get a snapshot picture of what's happening in self-publishing as more people buy Ereaders. I have never changed the prices of my books because I want to see what happens with the $.99 vs. $2.99 pricing and because I feel that $2.99 is a fair price for all (I know I'm repeating myself.)

Will my newer books slowly rise or slowly drop? How about the time travels? Do time travel romances have a built-in fan base? Do people read more in May or more in October? So many questions. I could go on and on.

In April, 2011, I sold 5,431 of the $.99 book at Amazon. If I double the number above (2,662) by the end of May, I will be close to the 5,431 books I sold in April. If that number keeps up or even rises in the next few months, I am going to assume lots of people are buying kindles and they all like romantic time travels. :)

Truthfully, I have no idea what to do with all these numbers, other than share than with all of you. In a few months, after I release my other books, I might be able to do some concrete analyzing. Believe it or not I am writing and editing more than I am blogging or checking numbers.

I try to spend about 15 minutes a day looking at tweets, another 15 minutes looking over interesting sites or blogs. I probably spend an hour a day over here and I check my sales numbers a few times a day. I'm getting better about that. Checking numbers gets less addicting as time goes by because I'd rather write books than check #'s. I spend a minimum of five hours a day writing.

Disclaimer: I am not promoting self-publishing over any other kind of publishing. If you self-publish your book, I have no idea if you will sell 1 book or 20,000 books. Nobody knows. Self-publishing a book ten years ago or even one year ago is not the same as self-publishing a book today. Writers now have one more option to choose from when thinking about publishing their book(s).

Any questions?

Lions, and tigers, and crappy unedited books! Oh, my!

For the sake of discussion, I need to get something off of my chest. I keep seeing writers on different blogs and loops talk about how crappy unedited books are going to hurt us as writers.

Let me see if I have this right...I think what writers are saying is that if everyone in the world throws a crappy, non-edited book on kindle it's going to hurt them, or me, or some other author.

I don't agree. I think it will only hurt THAT author. 

Whether it's books, music, or movies, people have SO many choices...BUT the decent fun books, movies and songs always seem to find their way to the top...or somewhere close to it. I've watched a lot of movies that probably never should have been made...but I could stop watching it at any time.

Readers of books can read a blurb and download a sample for FREE. That's about three chapters to figure out if they want to read that book or not. Even if they go on to buy the book, they can return it!

I think this whole "indie authors are putting out crap" is a bunch of crap. Someone needs to start giving me names and titles because I've been reading a lot of great indie books lately. I don't think the people who are worried about this have even read a book by an Indie author.

I think they're scared...of nothing. Or maybe of a little more competition.

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy a book. Whether there are one million books on Amazon or ten million, and half of them are crap, all the reader has to do is read the blurb, read the sample chapters for FREE, and then decide. I just don't get how having crappy books out there is going to hurt ME or anyone else. I really don't get it.

And, speaking of editing, I have never read a book, EVER, that didn't have typos and/or grammar problems. Suddenly this is a problem? No one has ever bought a CRAP book from Borders, Barnes & Noble, or Wal-Mart???

There are a LOT of books on Amazon that aren't selling. I think readers know what they want to read.

And still, I'm not telling writers out there to self-publish crappy, unedited books, I'm just not worried about it hurting me and my career if they do. In my opinion, a little competition, crappy or not, never hurt anyone. 

Is Your Book Ready for Publication?

If you self-publish your book, you might sell 1 book and you might sell 1,000 books.

If you sign with an agent and sell your book to a traditional publisher, you might sell 1 book and you might sell 1,000 books.

Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, your book is going to be competing with the big dogs.

Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, your book is going to have readers who love it and readers who hate it.  Go read the reviews of some of your all-time favorite books to see what I’m talking about.

Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, you need to have conflict, interesting characters…and LUCK to sell your book to readers who aren’t family members.  

No matter how many editors you hire, somebody at some point is going to pick your book apart and tell you your writing is amateurish and not to give up your day job. Go read the reviews of some bestselling authors to see what I’m talking about.

Who are you going to let determine whether or not your book is good enough for publication?

One of 50 busy editors in NYC?

Your critique partner?

The judge from a contest?

I like to assume YOU, whoever you are, are smart enough to know if your book has been edited. Have you received feedback from readers, agents, editors? Having a few relatives look over your book isn’t going to cut it.

If you’re still not sure, start submitting to contests, agents, editors and see what they have to say. Is there some interest there? Are you getting feedback?

If you have been at this writing gig for a while now and you’re still not sure if your story is good enough, then it probably isn’t. Put your novel away for a while and read it again in a few months. If your story doesn’t hold your attention, it probably won’t hold anyone else’s either.

Most importantly…keep writing, revise and rewrite, and believe in yourself!

"This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back in again."

--Oscar Wilde

Talking about Self-Publishing

Visit me today at Trish Milburn's site today at: http://www.trishmilburn.com/theresa-ragan-talks-self-publishing-success/

We'll be there all day! 

I also share dollar amounts. How much did I earn selling 10,000 books?

Come on over and share in the discussion!