Category: self publishing

January’s sales numbers

Here are my sales numbers for the month of January. Thanks to being on Kindle Nation Daily at the beginning of January, I surpassed my goals for the month. I sold 197 copies altogether of my three novels, and I was only expecting to sell maybe 100. Here are the stats from Amazon and B&N:

The Usurper, my thriller novel for $2.99 as an ebook, $9.99 as paperback
Kindle US: 104
Kindle UK: 4
B&N Nook: 13
Paperback: 1

Out of Time: a time travel novella for $.99 as e-book, $6.99 for paperback
Kindle US: 28
Kindle UK: 14
B&N Nook: 4
Paperback: 1

Shattered Earth, a science fiction novel $2.99 as ebook, $12.99 as paperback
Kindle US: 19
Kindle UK: 2
B&N Nook: 6
Paperback: 1

So far, this brings the grand total of novels sold to 800. My goal is to have 1000 sold by the end of March.

December sales numbers

I did this last month, so I figured I would do it again this month for December. This is for Smashwords itself, Nook, Kindle, and a couple of paperbacks. This is all without much in the way of paying for ads, or being on blog tours, just mostly from word of mouth across Facebook, Amazon, the Kindleboards, Nookboards, Mobilereads, and probably all the mentions I overdid with Twitter, and the occasional sponsorship such as Frugal eReader or Two Ends of the Pen, or interview on some blogs. I did pay for the Kindle Nation Daily sponsorship, and even though it was just yesterday, I did sell 50 on Kindle in that one day.

Sales for December:
2 paperbacks for The Usurper and Out of Time

Barnes and Noble’s Nook
The Usurper: 11
Out of Time – 15
Shattered Earth 7

Kindle US
Out of Time – 24
Shattered Earth – 12
The Usurper – 22

Kindle UK
Out of Time – 9
Shattered Earth – 2
The Usurper – 1

Smashwords
The Usurper – 6
Out of Time – 2
Shattered Earth – 1

This equals 112 sold. That’s almost double from November, and I’m trying to make it my goal to double my sales every month, or at least try to equal them. My total sales from 2008 to present currently sits at 25, 475. I’m hoping to break the 1000 sales mark by March.

Mentioned on J.A. Konrath’s blog

My novel, The Usurper, was mentioned, along with quite a few other Indie authors, on mega Indie author J.A. Konrath’s blog, here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/11/with-little-help.html Check out all the novels listed. All these authors would like to have more people read their novels, including myself.

I am very appreciative of the fact that Indie authors generally help each other out, and try to get each other recognized. From sharing posts about someone’s work on Facebook or Twitter, to learning from other, more successful indie authors on message boards or through books they have published about how to be a successful independent author. Being an Indie author is challenging, but rewarding, and through all the hard work you do through promotion, you can see it pay off through all the sales you may get. Being an indie also has the benefit of doing things your way, and you have nobody telling you what to do or how to write your stories.

Traditional publishers, like the old media, may hate having things get out of their control, but, with the internet, everything is now in the people’s hands. A person can publish on Kindle, Nook, or Smashwords fairly easily, and the paperback copy of the novel can be released a week later on Amazon if you publish it on Createspace. No more waiting around for months and months after you query a traditional publisher, and then getting rejected. Welcome to the 21st century where you can bypass the old media completely.

Book review of The Usurper – a political thriller

Here is the newest book review done by Nurture Your Books

“A cold-blooded, Clancy-esque political thriller; The Usurper is sure to entertain.”

As decades of meticulous scheming and planning finally come together, the KGB, an under-appreciated threat, takes the final steps towards the ultimate coup. The terrorist faction exploits idealistic volunteers to do some of the dirty work and utilizes educated individuals, in positions of power, who are more than willing to die for their belief in ultimate control by the government. When a mixed group of terrorists and extremists spend years training for the eventual downfall of the western world, collateral damage and the loss of life isn’t given consideration.

The Usurper starts off slowly, but quickly picks up momentum as the plot thickens and the story unfolds. There are multiple themes in this fictional novel, not the least of which is terrorism, persecution and indoctrinated loyalties; this story painstakingly illustrates a plan for world domination that requires countless willing and blackmailed participants. The main characters are written with the most depth, while supporting characters have very little in the way of a back story. More internal dialog would enhance the reader’s ability to connect with the characters and pull them deeper into the story itself. Some structure and grammatical errors, while few and far between, need to be addressed to ensure a smoothly-flowing story that every reader will be able to enjoy.

Despite the minor issues mentioned, The Usurper is a very fast-paced, political thriller that will keep readers on their toes and offer some thought-provoking twists on historic and future possibilities in the political arena.

Plus.. featured book on Nurture Your Books.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Usurper-conservative-political-ebook/dp/B007K9WDA4