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The Writing Experiment: Day 4

5/3/2013

Results of Days 1-3

Flames in the Midst had some great results for the first 3 days of our experiment.

Flames hit #1 on two separate genre lists (the pic to the left is from the top 100 Free Books in Urban Fantasy) and came close to breaking into the top 100 free books on Amazon.
I had set a very high goal of reaching 10,000 downloads in five days. The first time I offered Flames for free, in four days more than 8,000 people downloaded the novel. This time around, the total number reached 1987—just shy of 2,000. Perhaps this is due to being a second free offer. It is also possible that offering the book at the beginning of the month played a part in these numbers. Despite the fact that Day 2 only brought a few hundred downloads, this was the day we hit the #1 spots in two fantasy genres. This makes me think that competition must have been very high during this period of time.

Next Steps

On Monday, The Caffeinated Diva will review Flames in the Midst. I am interested to see if that will increase sales.
For the rest of May, the price will remain at 99 cents.
In June, I may raise the price by $1 or $2.

For now, it is a waiting game. Overall, I know the best chance for success is to get more books out. So while I wait to see the results of the experiment, I am busy writing. By July, the rough draft of Dreams in the Midst should be complete. I plan to include a few sneak peeks as I go. So, stay tuned, and thank you for your support on my journey!

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The Writing Experiment: Day 1

4/30/2013

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My pricing experiment starts today. I don't know if all or any of the 8 sites I chose to advertise on will advertise my free days. I chose not to pay for the advertising this time around, so there are no guarantees. The goal: 10,000 free downloads in three days. The snag: I just read that the worst day to have a free promotion is the first of the month. Technically, my free promotion incorporates the first of the month, but it does not start on it. By the time I read this tidbit of advice, I had already notified the advertising sites and possible book bloggers.

By the way, I am super excited. Kim, The Caffeinated Diva, has agreed to review Flames in the Midst. Her review is due out on May 6th. I really hope she enjoys the book. So, Day 4 or 5 will bring the final results of the free promotion (I discovered last time there can be a lapse in the reporting of free downloads). Day 4 brings the next step: 99 cent sale for the month of May. Day 7 (May 6th) will include Kim's review. Who knows where we will go from there.

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The Writing Pricing Experiment

4/22/2013

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    No one seems to know the best price for a novel by a new author. I've read blogs that say 99 cents is the way to go. John Locke recommends this in his book How I Sold 1 Million ebooks in 5 Months! I recently stumbled across another Indie/Self-pub author, Sarra Cannon. Sarra has sold over 110,000 copies of her books. Although she doesn't price her books at 99 cents anymore, it was the strategy she used for building her audience. This makes sense.
    However, there are other strategies. I attended a presentation at a Florida Writers Association mini-conference on utilizing Amazon's KDP to publish your books. The presenter recommended upping your price to $5.99. The reason for this is because some readers will not look at a book priced below the five dollar threshold. Apparently there are those who think if a book is priced too inexpensively, it must not have any value. Now, that's a double-edged sword. On the one side, I've written a lengthy novel, and I would spend much more than 99 cents for a novel of the same length in the grocery store. On the other hand, the fact that I can price my novel at 99 cents allows me to build an audience as an unknown writer. The author giving the presentation already has a readership, so it was easier for him to push the price of his books up.
    So, what is my pricing experiment? I am leaning towards the 99 cent price to build my readership.

The plan:

Spend this week editing Flames in the Midst one more time.
Schedule 3 free days (April 30-May 2) with KDP select.
Advertise my free days on free sites.
Find book bloggers to read Flames in the Midst. (By the way, last time I ran free days through Amazon's KDP Select, I didn't know about marketing. I made about $400 after 8,000+ free downloads with no advertising or work on my part.)
Change the price of Flames in the Midst to 99 cents.
After one month, evaluate. I will either stay at the 99 cent rate or move up to $1.99 or $2.99 for the next month.
If sales slow way down, I do have 2 additional free days I can use.
In August/September, release book 2 in the Jade Hale series, Dreams in the Midst (tentative title).

So, the pricing experiment starts next week! I am nervous and excited to see what will happen. So far, I have sold about 150-200 books (I need to download all of my sales data and add it up). Let's see where Flames in the Midst can go from here!

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Writing is Scary

4/19/2013

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Today, I made a decision. My goal is to write full time within the next four years. I know four years seems like a strange time frame, but I recently took on a new job with a grant that runs for another four years. In my new position, I keep finding myself thinking about my future. I think about going to graduate school for an EdD or a PhD or going to law school. All of these things are just a distraction for what I really want to do. I want to write.

The thing is, writing is scary. I can follow the steps for another degree with reasonable certainty of success if I am willing to put in the effort and the hours necessary. There is no similar guarantee for writing. I can put in the hours and the mental effort, and I can fall far short of my goals. I can sell a handful of books. I can amass large quantities of rejection letters. I can spend more money on workshops, conferences, and book covers than I earn.

I have a confession to make. When it comes down to it, I have never really tried. Finishing my first novel, I had dreams of grandeur. I would be discovered. I would sell thousands of books right out the door. When that didn't happen, I became discouraged. I looked at writing as something to do in my free time, and when I didn't find any free time, I didn't write.

With that in mind, I have begun looking at writing differently this week. I am committing to writing 500-1,000 words per day. So far, I have met my goal every day this week. More than that, I am committing to a writing experiment involving Kindle Select, my current novel Flames in the Midst and the sequel. My next post will detail the plans of the experiment which will begin next Thursday, April 29th.

Writing is scary, but I'm up for it! By the way, if you are a writer, I invite you to share your average daily word count below.

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A teacher, a writer, a mother, a wife and a friend. All people wear what feels like a million different hats at any given time. In this place, I choose to have freedom. That doesn't mean I'm not still juggling my hats; it just means I choose which of them I balance on my head as I write.

The Writing Experiment: Day 4

The Writing Experiment: Day 1

The Writing Pricing Experiment

Writing is Scary

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