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A Nice Way to Start a Long Weekend

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On a lark I submitted Space Rogues to the Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize. I don’t expect to win, but included in the entry fee was a critic’s review. I’m always looking for great pull quotes to use.

Today I got an email that the review part was done. You can read it here, but here’s somet of the better bits.

“Prose/Style: Dialogue-heavy at times, the book is fast-paced and fun, as well as funny. Descriptions, like the one of the robot Gabe, are precious and memorable.”

Makes sense. I’m very much a dialogue person. I dislike pages of text telling the reader what’s happening, when clever dialogue can do it.

“Character Development: The handsome hero is pilot Wil Calder, a human, but it’s the aliens and the bot who shine. Bennie, the three-foot tall green hacker, really makes the book. And Gabe, the robot, seems almost human. Dynamite and endearing characters allow this adventure to take off.”

I like that the reviewer picked up that Wil, while the ‘main character’ is really just the glue of the team. It’s the team that shines.

 

An 8.75 out of 10 certainly doesn’t hurt either.

An Update on Being “Wide”

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For those following along at home, I’ve been selling Space Rogues “Wide” since the middle-ish of last year. There’s a myriad reasons, but mostly I dislike my eggs in one basket, and even more dislike the zero sum game that is Kindle Unlimited.

So, I’m wide. That means you can get the Space Rogues series on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books, and Google books. As well as in print anywhere you can request books (bookstores and libraries).

So, how’s that going?

My 2019 sales pie

Quite well actually. Amazon is of course still the bulk of my sales, but not all. This pie chart is 2019 only, because I’ve begun tracking my weekly sales in a spreadsheet, and calculating the breakdown sales by store weekly from that data.

Last week Amazon was 87%, at the time of this post, it’s 86% My hope is that Amazon falls to around 60%. Not because I hate them, I have a Kindle and love it. I also recognize that Amazon is getting close to a dangerous monopoly and I hate that, no matter who it is. So I want to support anyone who chooses to use another device/store to get their reading material.

I’m pretty excited to see this chart change weekly, and can’t wait to see what it looks like in December of this year.


Writing, a year in review

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One of these years, this post will be from the perspective of “The Year I Made My Entire Income From Writing” This year isn’t that year, but it’s a good stepping stone toward that goal.

This is the first full year with more than one book out, so I have more data, and (yay!) more income.

Books

First of all, how many books are ‘live’ now? Four, well like three and a half.

Book 3 didn’t go live until a few days ago, so the bulk of the money and points in this post are primarily around books 1 & 2.

Book 1 didn’t go wide until June 3rd with book 2 being released wide the end of June, so most of this data will be Amazon. Though it’s definitely interesting how well the other stores have done (at least to me) in the short time I’ve been with them.

For those curious, why wide? That’s fodder for its own post, but the short of it is, that while I own a Kindle, I am very wary of the power Amazon is accumulating. They’re actively hostile to their partners (those who sell on Amazon), despite our being part of their income stream. As a proponent of transparency, they’re the antithesis of what I like in business.

Their Kindle Unlimited (KU) program is a boon for readers (I pay for it) but for writers, it’s the only time in publishing, that it’s a zero sum game. Amazon makes authors duke it out for a cut of a really massive pie. They ignore (until recently) bad actors, and require for that tiny cut of pie, ebook exclusivity. So for me, it’s a hard NO. I don’t begrudge those who do it, many make their entire living off KU reads. That’s just a little too risky for me.

Sales

So how many books have I sold? This is NOT free books. That’ll be later. This is only how many books did someone give me money for.

Drum roll……5390*

Now, this is all books, and mostly book 1, which for most of the year has been $.99 so keep that in mind :)

Sales By Store

While I don’t break down sales of each book (I probably should), I do keep track of sales by store.

  • Amazon: 4329
  • Barnes & Noble: 399
  • Kobo: 224
  • Apple Books: 362
  • Google: 76

Clearly Amazon is the big dog, that was never in question, but I like the numbers I’m seeing from the other stores. Part of my plan (for as much as I can control it) is to build my brand outside Amazon so that those stores grow their presence in my income report. I know authors who make almost half their income from stores that aren’t Amazon.

Books Given Away

The concept of a permafree book is not something I like, so Space Rogues book 1 is $.99 I value people who value my work. I understand the loss leader concept and maybe when I have 20 books out, I’ll give book 1 away, but probably not. That said, there is value in the occasional sale. These numbers are driven by a Bookbub deal that I was selected for in September. I layered on (that’s another topic below) an ENT and Bookbarbarian deal.

  • Amazon: 6791
  • Barnes & Noble: 2616
  • Kobo: 3346
  • Apple Books: 6644
  • Google: 5425

Overall I am at 1:6 sales to free books. I’ve nothing to compare that too, so can only assume it’s not bad. It’d be a much ‘better’ ratio but as you can see, Google has no shortage of free book grabbers, and a distinct lack of book buyers…

Money

OK so, how much did I make as a writer this year? I’ll give a total, and by store breakdown, because I track that :)

  • Total: $6,435.11
    • Amazon: $4,856.43
    • Barnes & Noble: $529.00
    • Kobo: $118.18
    • Apple Books: $742.92
    • Google: $188.58

A long(ish) way to go before it’s actually a “living” but certainly not anything to shake a stick at.

Expenses

As with any business there are expenses. In writing it’s services (editing, proofreading, covers, etc) and promotion.

This year I spent about $1500 on editing/proofreading. I spent about $400 on cover design, and about $600 on promotions. And about $2000 on ads. Ads are sadly pretty much a necessity. Eventually you get more for each spend, because ideally someone continues on to read the rest of your series. I’ve gotten wiser and more strategic in my ad spending, so I expect that number to either go down a bit in 2019 or garner more sales. At least I hope! Oh and snake oil, there was a fair amount of “classes” and tutorials paid for this year (and last)

Take Away: What Did I learn?

I learned Google isn’t a great place to sell things. They’ve cultivated a user base of freeloaders and cheapskates, and it shows. That’s fine, I’ll list my books there, collect what little sales I get from there.

I learned that stacking promos is probably not worth it. In September, I had a Bookbub, an ENT and a Bookbarbarian promo. Each has a cost, so you have to hope to recoup that cost with sales down the line. The larger your back catalog that easier that is. Sadly it’s nearly impossible to track what sale was from what, but being three of the largest promo sites, I think the spend would be better if spread across the year. Wait for the sales to slide back to normal, then a boost, rinse and repeat. I think the real help there, would be in (amazon) rankings, since the book promo’d would be active longer than a single few day surge, which is quickly disregarded by the algorithmic gods of Amazon. No idea how the other stores track this stuff.

I also learned that the old folklore around writers not making a living, is just that, folklore. Am I yet? No. Do I see a path to that? Yes. There’s a Facebook group (and conference) called 20BooksTo50K, the idea being (if it’s not obvious from the name) that 20 books is when you hit 50k in sales. I don’t know if it’ll take me twenty books or forty, but I know I can keep writing and that each time someone buys the book, I’m reminded that people are interested in my creative output. This year I released 2 books, I’m hoping I can keep that pace up, but honestly am not sure.

Lastly, I learned that while Barnes & Noble can’t figure out what to do with their real world pressence, their device and device owners are READERS, and more importantly, BUYERS. I was honestly surprised to have such a strong showing from B&N.

Future

So, what’s the future hold? Well more books that’s for sure. Space Rogues 4: The Horror Movie Job is in progress, and I hope to be starting on Book 5 sometime in the spring. Fingers crossed.

The future also holds better use of funds. There are a lot of authors out there that have realized that there’s even more money in selling “how to be a writer” type classes than selling books. That’s not a knock per se, but many aren’t that informative if you’ve paid even the slightest attention to the industry and our own results while getting started. Lesson learned.

I’m really excited for 2019! I’ve got no shortage of books to read (because THAT’s important) and no shortage of books to write. Let’s do this!

FootNote

* I’m writing this post on the 26th so there are a few days left to gather sales.

My First BookBub Deal!

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I realized I never mentioned this. I got a BookBub (BB from here out)! If that name means nothing to you, you should sign up if you like getting great deals on books. They’re basically the big dog of book promo sites. Getting a BB is a big deal, getting rejected is a badge of honor among indie authors.

There are two types of BB deals, free and discounted. Within those, there’s also international and US only. I got a free book, international deal.

When you apply for your deal, one of the questions is are your dates flexible? Since I was applying on a lark, as I hadn’t in a few months, and now had two books, I checked, ‘yes’.

I got the deal. After spinning around in my chair a bit, I went and applied for a few other promos. It seems to be common practice to stack promos when you can. I was on a roll apparently as I got an ENT deal and Book Barbarian. I had applied for a few ENT deals and never been accepted. Now I had three promos spread over about 7 days.

How books are selected for BB deals is something a mystical legend among writers, but (and I am 100% guessing) I’m thinking that being wide/not only in KU was a factor. 

So this post will be about results. The next will be about the nerve-wracking drama that came with my BB deal.

So, data. Consider this your only warning, charts ahead, LOTS of them.

So my BB Deal was 9/19, the ENT was 9/25, and Book Barbarian was 9/27. That means from a bit before the 19th, to the 29th(ish) Space Rogues Book 1 was free everywhere (well not everywhere, but that’s another post).

So, how’d it go? 

Kobo.

“3400 ebooks sold” is really the free books. You can see the day the BB email went out. As one might expect it’s a reverse hockey stick type graph. For a day or two you get the folks that don’t open their emails right away, then it just starts to trickle, folks taking days to read email, folks hearing about the book, the book moving up free charts and being more discoverable, etc.

Barnes & Noble

B&N doesn’t give great graphs, so I missed snapping a week graphic.

What’s nice, and I’m guessing you’ve noticed it by now, it’s not all free. Books are selling, that’s book two. BB Deals are great when you have back catalog. The leading thinking is folks will grab your other stuff (especially if you discounted it as well, which I did. Book 2 was $1.99, from $3.99) while they’re grabbing the free book, since deal lovers, love deals.

iBooks (Now Apple Books)

Apple Books has long been a challenge for me. Even before the BB deal, the other markets were moving a few books a week, roughly. Apple Books, most weeks, no sales. The first graph is paid books for September, the second is free. In all cases, the long tail continued into October.

Google

There isn’t much to say about Google other than their backend is HORRIBLE, and the only way to see ANY data is exporting a CSV file. They do offer a graph, but it’s generated as an image, so there are no tooltips to explain it. So yeah. I moved a bunch on Google Play, sold a smaller bunch, but it’s one of my worst performing platforms.

Amazon

The first chart is sales, the second (Blue) is free. So you might recall, my BB was 9/19. The blue graph doesn’t line up with that, but the orange does. That’s a story for another time. As expected, Amazon moved a ton of units, had had the strongest long tail. Again that’s likely because the book moved up the free charts as well as the paid charts, which made it more discoverable.

The Long Tail

So I mentioned the long tail, below is my book report for September and October. 

October was the best month so far, ever. I can see why folks rave about BB deals, and why 20booksto50k is a thing. The common saying is, “It’s easier to sell 20 books to one person, than one book to 20 people.” I wholeheartedly agree. 

Many dislike series, but there’s business logic to writing them. Folks fall in love and want more, and if you have a back catalog, you give them what they want. 

What’s Next?

Space Rogues 3: The Behemoth Job comes out December 26th (At least that’s the plan). I’ll start applying for BB deals after the first of the year. They’re not cheap, but they do seem to pay for themselves.

Oh, One More Thing

It’s Tuesday, November 6th. Please, PLEASE Go vote.

WIP Thursday 11/1/18

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Been a while since the last WIP post. I have a good excuse though! I’ve wrapped up Space Rogues 3; the cover is being created, the manuscript is heading to the editor, and I’ve already started working on the first draft of Space Rogues 4: Space is Dangerous (It’s a working title).

I’m really excited to release Space Rogues 3: The Behemoth Job! I hope you like it! Until then, enjoy one of the first scenes in Space Rogues 4.

He starts chewing, “They don’t like me, because I’m smarter.”

Maxim laughs, “No offense my friend, but these people are some of the best and brightest of the Galactic Commonwealth.” He cuts off another piece of jerlack steak and between chews, adds, “They’re paying really well, don’t screw this up for me.”

Bennie shrugs again, “We’re almost done, what could go wrong?”

Maxim stops eating and looks around expectantly. After a few seconds, “Well nothing exploded and there aren’t any alarms sounding. Could you try to not jinx it, please.”

Bennie makes a face, “You’re an ex-Peacekeeper. How are you superstitious?”

“You don’t last long as a Peacekeeper without picking up a few superstitions. Besides, you’ve been around Wil long enough to know that anytime he says, what could go wrong, something explodes, or someone shows up to try and kill us.”

Bennie takes a sip of his drink, a bright green liquid that is popular on the station, “Oh come on, that’s just a Wil thing. You know him, is it any wonder people are always trying to kill him?”

2018 Conferences, Wrapped. Onward!

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Warning: This has little to do with writing.

Last week, I wrapped up the last of 2018’s 360|Conferences events.

360|iDev, like her sisters; 360|AnDev and Chicago Roboto did really well this year. I’m three for three, turning a profit. That is probably a head scratcher, “Just now turning a profit?”

Chicago Roboto launched in 2017. 360|AnDev in 2016. Not unexpectedly, new events struggle to get their footing. 360|iDev has had profitable years but had a super horrible one in 2017.

One Horrific Year

In fact, 2017 was seriously the worst year of my life. It was horrible. My closing keynote for 360|iDev 2018 touches on it some, I might release it. Last year I got teary on stage thinking “This might be the last time I see these people.” This year on stage I got a bit teary too but in a good way. Not only was I certain I’d see everyone again in 2019, but I was specifically calling out four people who I considered to be MVPs. I started doing this MVP thing several years ago during 360|Flex.

Every few years, I call on a few people to thank specifically. I give them a limited run MVP jacket and a copy of the Cluetrain Manifesto and Anything You Want. I might have to start stocking up, as Cluetrain is getting harder and harder to source as a paperback!

2018 was a major turning point. I spent much of the end of 2017 and early 2018 revamping how I deliver my events. Managing costs, and much more. I’m really happy to say that the efforts seemed to have paid off.

As I wrap up conference work (at least my own) for 2018 I’m feeling really optimistic, more so than ever before, about the coming year. 

Worlds Collide, or at least meet.

My First Signing, at a conference no less
My First Book Signing!

It was also kind of cool to introduce one half of my world to another. I had a set of Space Rogues books (1 and 2) at home so I added them to my conference raffle pile. I suppose it also counts as my first signing since the winner asked for both books to be signed. That was kinda cool, though I had to think of a good “Tagline” for signing.

Anyhow, I’m really happy with life right now. Money wise the business isn’t out of the hole that was 2018, but we not only didn’t dig a deeper hole but at a little closer to the exit of the hole.

Onward!

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