# My self-published book hit the 100 sales mark



## Steerpike

A modest number to be sure, but still was kind of neat. I had 66 sales in December, which is far more than the previous month. The book went up in late October, and through most most of November was priced at $2.99. Around the first week of December I changed the price to $0.99 and it appears to have made a difference.

Now to get the sequel finished. Hopefully that will help generate additional interest.'

In any event, 100 isn't a lot of sales, but it is still nice for me to hit the mark.


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## Graham Irwin

nice work!!!


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Congrats! Can you tell us some about what you've been doing in terms of marketing/getting the word out? The story I put up on Amazon, I'll feel lucky if it sells one copy a week, since nobody even knows about it outside of MS so far


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## Steerpike

Benjamin:

I've put updates up on Facebook and Google+, and I've mentioned the book in the Amazon forums for self-promotion, as well as any number of forums devoted to Kindles that have places for self-promotion. I also set up a Twitter account, which I had never done before, and started following a lot of people related in some manner to children's book publishing, and then some of them followed me back, so I've tweeted a few times about the book. Finally, I did a very modest Google AdWords campaign (capping out at $20 a month, which also started in December). When you figure in the Google AdWords campaign, my net take on the book is definitely not very much, but I wanted to do this as a sort of experiment, and I was hoping to get another book or two up in the series and eventually drop that part of the marketing once there is a larger base of work.

Of the above, I don't really have a good way to determine which strategy has been most effective.


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## sashamerideth

Hey congratulations Steerpike!

Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner


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## Codey Amprim

Congratulations!
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## The Blue Lotus

Oh, how wonderful steerpike! Congrats man. You earned it.

IDK if it will help anyone but I know another forum where you are able to post your work @ And they have a carousel widget which is pretty cool to help people find the authors work fast. 

http://wherewritersmeet.proboards.com/index.cgi

You have to have an acnt, but the people are pretty nice around there.


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## Telcontar

Congrats! Definitely seems to show that without some kind of clout - some word of mouth or reviews or something - a book can still sell at .99 cents. Also, everything I've read says that unless you have a prior platform or lightning strikes, it's just going to take time to build up some readers.

Been thinking about Google Adwords myself. Were you running that for the entire time, or only the month of December?


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## Graham Irwin

Google Adwords is currently driving 100+ people to my site (Legend of Alm - Legend of Alm home) per day. I got a free $100 Adword credit by starting my website with weebly.com.

I'm selling slowly on Amazon at 2.99, but paperback copies are doing much better. Plus, the profit per paperback is $7.00, so that's very good, and that's where I'm seeing real profit. I'd like to offer it for free, but when I see something offered for free, I assume it isn't very good. I've got my previews on my website; if people want to continue reading, it's only 2.99, and I feel my work is worth that. I'm not looking to get rich. 

I need a second book out quickly (should be by end of February), so that those who already like my writing could continue in my world. The more titles I have, the better I can establish a fan base.

It's rather funny, but have any of you ever played the video game "The Sims 3"? I played it once, (it's a life simulation) and I chose to go down the career path of a writer. Computer me had to write all the time, neglecting social interaction and cleaning, until the royalties from his huge back catalog of books started paying off. For a video game, it was rather true to life. The more titles you have, the better. Also, practice makes perfect, and your writing only improves if you do more of it. Unlike the effects of alcohol. 

Should someone like one of my books, I want another one waiting for them, and another after that. It seems like people really want to invest in a story told in many volumes these days. Give them what they want!


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Steerpike said:


> Benjamin:
> 
> I've put updates up on Facebook and Google+, and I've mentioned the book in the Amazon forums for self-promotion, as well as any number of forums devoted to Kindles that have places for self-promotion. I also set up a Twitter account, which I had never done before, and started following a lot of people related in some manner to children's book publishing, and then some of them followed me back, so I've tweeted a few times about the book. Finally, I did a very modest Google AdWords campaign (capping out at $20 a month, which also started in December). When you figure in the Google AdWords campaign, my net take on the book is definitely not very much, but I wanted to do this as a sort of experiment, and I was hoping to get another book or two up in the series and eventually drop that part of the marketing once there is a larger base of work.
> 
> Of the above, I don't really have a good way to determine which strategy has been most effective.



Those are great ideas. I have some time off next week, so I think I will definitely be doing a lot of that. Thanks!


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## Giant

Congrats Steerpike.


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## boboratory

Congrats Steerpike!

Fabulous Accomplishment!


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## Alexander Knight

Congratulations Steerpike! You're an inspiration to us all!


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## Steerpike

Thank you, again, all of you. I appreciate it a great deal!


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## Argentum

Congrats on the sales! I know it's a big thing and something definitely worth celebrating! Keep us posted! And let us know when you reach the couple hundreds and the thousands mark!


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## MichaelSullivan

Here's to many, many, more. Congratulations.


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## Chwedleuwre

Congrats! That's a big milestone. Best wishes for continued success.


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## Ronald T.

Well done, my friend!  Keep up the good work.


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## neodoering

*Lots of Reasons to be Free*



Graham Irwin said:


> I'm selling slowly on Amazon at 2.99, but paperback copies are doing much better. Plus, the profit per paperback is $7.00, so that's very good, and that's where I'm seeing real profit. I'd like to offer it for free, but when I see something offered for free, I assume it isn't very good.



Graham;
Your comment really struck me.  I don't purchase books based on their price; I buy them based on my interests.  That is, I'm interested in stories about American Indians, and I'm interested in current anthologies because they keep me up to date about what kind of stories editors consider publishable.  I am interested in classics because they show what has staying power over time.  I recently paid almost $50 for a brand-new copy of Dante's _Inferno_, and yet only $5 for a copy of Neil Gaiman's _Coraline._  I haven't downloaded any free books because I haven't seen any that fall within my interests.  

I offer several free books on my website and on Smashwords.  I invested these books with as much attention as my commercial works, and they've been downloaded thousands of times.  _Someone_ likes them.  
I create them and put them out there to showcase my storytelling skills and attract readers to try my commercial works.  

I'd be interested in what other people think about free stories and novels.  Do you stay away from them?  Are you a Smashwords freebies junkie?  Found some good ones?  Share!


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## sylvandread

Major congratulations are in order. That is a huge accomplishment!


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## Ban

Not to be a buzzkill guys, but this is a thread from 2012


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## Malik

Still awesome.


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## Chessie

Malik said:


> Still awesome.



For reals. It's not as easy as some might think!


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## Steerpike

Heh. Thanks, guys. I've sold quite a lot more since that time. Not enough to quit my day job, but exponentially more on a per-word basis that if I'd sold a similar length story to the highest paying SF/F market


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## bestellen

You're an inspiration to us all!


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## pmmg

Very cool, good for you.


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## CF WELBURN

Congrats man. Surely a milestone. Keep them coming!


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## Alexander Knight

Can you tell us how you marketed it and what tools you think benefited you the most with the sale of your book?


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## Clayton Taylor Wood

Congrats! Celebrate every milestone, and enjoy!


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## TWErvin2

Keep on going, *Steerpike*!


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