Welcome to Writers Talkback. If you are a new user, your account will have to be approved manually to prevent spam. Please bear with us in the meantime

Sales success/failure

edited March 2012 in Writing
I recently self published an ebook of paranormal stories that nobody wanted using Kindle Direct Publishing. When I found I had sold one copy I was happy that I had succeeded on my own. Now I have found out that it was bought by one of my brothers. Happiness deflated. Anyone else thought they were succeeding and weren't?

Comments

  • Oh, Pete! Don't be disheartened. You will sell one to a total stranger and then another and then another...and then you'll get a review from a total stranger and then you'll feel really good!

    I actually felt good when my sister bought my book because none of my family had shown the slightest interest in it! :(
  • Keep up the promotion Pete. Look at the other threads on here with the key words 'Kindle' 'self-publishing' etc, and you'll see how hard it is to sell your work. Even the more successful authors are constantly battling to keep their books up in the charts. It takes time and persistence. Do you have a blog? Could you publish one of the stories for free on it, and add a link to your Kindle listing?
  • Pete - why don't you give us the link to your book? (or have you already done that on another thread?) Then at least talkbackers can have a look and see it they want to buy it.
  • Sorry I should have thought of putting the link in. I think this is it:

    https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/edit-book/one?digitalItemId=A25VRMJD1ZRIQC

    Thanks for the encouragement, and as Nena said she was glad when her sister bought her book as her family wasn't interested.
  • Link doesn't work?
  • Pete, That's the wrong link. Go to your book page, and paste and copy directly from their. You've put your report page up.
    Have you filled your author page page in? If you do this copy and paste it directly across to the UK.
    Good luck with your book. Paranormal is very big in the US you should do well.
    I'll post the Ghost Genre thread from Meet Our Authors on here for you later. You can leave a direct link for your book on it.
    Tell us your book title if you can't find the link yourself. Someone will find it and post it up for you.
    Good luck,
    Carol
  • Sorry CarolA. Thought what I did was the right one. Here is what it has at the top of my author page on Amazon. If this is not right I shall go have a sulk.

    http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004E2OUJC

    Thanks.
  • Thanks Baggy Books
  • Hi Pete. There are a few typos in the second to last sentence in your biography. Also it might be better if you didn't put yourself down so much in your biography! Be proud! You have a good body of work there and nobody need know that you have sold only a handful as you say you have!
  • Pete - I have to agree with Lou. You're too self-effacing!
    That link took me to the US Amazon site incidentally with your book priced in dollars. I'm going to go to Amazon UK to have a look at your book.
  • Okay - I've checked Amazon UK and only Intergalactic Vending Machine is coming up - whereas I'm interested in The Gray Stories. Now, I'm no expert when it comes to Amazon and Kindle so maybe I'm doing something wrong - or is The Gray Stories only available on the US site?
  • Here, Claudia:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gray-Stories-ebook/dp/B006YJFZCO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332770550&sr=8-4
  • I couldn't find your autobiography Peter.
    Here's the link to the Amazon Discussion Forum for the Ghost Genre in the US. This is in Meet Our Authors Forum. I post now and again.
    Read a few of the posts first to get the feel of them. Your will probably see mine. I post under my Christian name, Carol.
    Peter, if you visit the Meet Our Authors Forum on Amazon UK, you can leave a link to your book there, look down the posts to see which is the most suitable for you. It is important you only leave your promotion in the MOA, Amazon delete posts left elsewhere, and have been known to ban authors!
    Here's the link. Good luck.
    http://www.amazon.com/forum/meet%20our%20authors/ref=cm_cd_notf_message?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2UYC1FC06SU8S&cdPage=8&cdThread=Tx1ATXBDLDLALZ3#Mx1OO44PXVJMQG9
  • edited March 2012
    Hey, Pete.

    Don't be disheartened, feller. It just needs a boost. Some suggestions (off the top of my head)...

    'Tags' 'n' 'likes' - I've just 'liked' and added a couple of 'tags' on .uk site. The tags help people search for, e,g. 'paranormal'.

    Send a free copy to a reviewer (or 2, or more!) - at worst, they'll tell you what they think!

    Do you have a blog/Facebook page/Twitter account? Promote your book (in moderation!) or no one will knows it's there.

    Consider lowering the price for a few days in a promo offer, so people getting talking about it and reading it.

    If you're on the KDP select program, some authors are offering their books free to widen their readerships... look into this first though.

    Don't beat yourself up, just change tack. ;-)

    Good luck!

    Regards,
    Col
  • Some good advice from Col there. Also make sure you have a link to the book in all your emails - even ones to your electricity company - who knows who's going to click on it?

    Also ask people to review your book and offer to review yours. I honestly think reviews help sell books.
  • Thanks for all the good advice and comments. Some I am already doing while others I will look in to.
    Nobody in my little circle of family, friends etc has ever been a writer so they are not much interested in the subject. It's good to come here with other like minded people.
    Yers I will have to be more positive. I was once a sergeant-major in the army and that Pete g would have been more forceful. So I will have to regress (right word?) and go back to being him.
    USA Amazon is where I started getting published and Amazon UK does not always carry the same books. It is even worse here in New Zealand since we seem to be linked with Amazon's aussie site, though you wouldn't think so.
  • Pete, Amazon doesn't have a site in Australia. That's why we lowly Aussies and Kiwi's only get 35% of sales from our fellow Aussies and Kiwi's. They can only buy from Amazon US and are therefore considered to be 'foreign' sales.

    'Hanging out' on readers forums is a good idea. Goodreads is a great one ( http://www.goodreads.com/ ) - but be very careful there where you mention your book. Some of the groups are very anti-spam...just check the rules of a group before joining. The other great spot is one someone from TB put me onto and that's the Kindle Users Forum ( http://www.kuforum.co.uk/kindleusersforum/forum-5.html ). They are very supportive of writers; you can have your own thread as a writer and another for each of your books. They're a lovely bunch.

    Basically though, just get to know people in these places and after a while, you'll find them actively supporting you.
  • Thanks Nena
Sign In or Register to comment.