I know I am late, and for that I apologize. Want to know why? I have had to swallow the jagged pill that book selling has made me digest. No doubt, many other writers have had to go through it also, but this is all about me today. I promised to go completely nude and that includes success and defeat. Like my own flesh, it will not always be pretty and more often than not, it will embarrass me. So let’s get to it and then I will tell you my thoughts.
Print copies sold- 0
Kindle sales- 10
Smashwords-1
Personal sales- 15
I know some people purchased print copies in March, but from what Grace tells me, Lightning Source (our printer) counts all pre-sales Amazon or Barnes & Noble makes from them in their tallies. That means I didn’t really sell as many print copies as I thought last month. Amazon and Barnes & Noble had ordered them and are now selling what they ordered. I will get no more sales from there until their reserves (no idea what those are) are gone. That means my total for the month is 26. Add that to last month’s total of 84 and that brings us to 110 copies sold. I am at 13.8% of my challenge goal of 800 sales by December 1st.
All this said, I have battled myself on how I feel about this. My knee-jerk reaction is to throw things (myself on the floor flailing) and say I wasted nearly four years of my life pouring my heart into a novel that has lukewarm sales. That would be very drama queen of me and I already promised myself I would NOT be a drama queen. That leaves me with pouting for over a week and being late on getting my report to all of you. I’ve retreated into doing things I know I am good at so not to feel like a complete failure. I am very good at manual labor. Not many people judge you on that. Plus, there were many things that needed done around here…yes…that sounds good.
I’m done pouting now and hopefully my funk will move on. I really hate whiners. What I have learned is I can’t make anyone buy my girl and definitely can’t make them like it if they do. I am stuck at 13 reviews on Amazon and can’t make anyone do that either…begging is pathetic and I refuse at this point to do that. I will continue to try to get people interested and maybe get her into a few local places, but ultimately I Am Ocilla’s success is in God’s hands.
Because it has “naked” in the band’s name and because it has “chickadee China” in it and because it makes me smile.
Until next month’s report….
Peace, love and God’s will.
Still reading but I really like it.
it’s quirky, spunky, fast, and who doesn’t love a panda. Reviewing coming but finishing thebook comes first.
Thank you, Carol. I really appreciate your support.
You are NOT a failure in any sense of the word! There are so many books to choose from and it’s very difficult to get noticed. Just because you’ve had a slow start doesn’t mean that can’t or won’t change. Don’t get discouraged!
Thank you, Jewels. I am kicking my own butt for being down on myself…which is hard for women of our shortness.
Yes, it is! I have been impressed with your dedication from the very beginning of this project. My advice to you is don’t get down on yourself and focus on the positive. You’ve written a book and had it published. How cool is that?! Most people only talk about it and YOU DID IT!
Thank you again. Maybe there will be a pair of kickin’ red boots in my future.
Patience.
But I can’t talk 
It takes courage to go naked in public. I admire you for that. Your story will catch on. It is a different read, but brilliant.
Aww…thank you.
Sweetie, I listen carefully to the range of small press/self-publishing stats. You’re doing fine. Think long-term–you do not have to do what warehoused authors must do…sell every possible unit in the first six months before being driven out of print. Your baby has the rest of your (and her) life to make good. No pressure. You’re free to enjoy the completion of your hard work.
Thank you, Thinky-Doo.
C.L. nails it…shelf life is everything. And when you’re not trad-pubbed, your shelf life is not 30 days or even six months, but 70 YEARS after your death (providing your estate does not renew and therefore extend that shelf life). Take it from me, it is a very slow, but steady process. Next step is always “write the next one,” which it sounds like you are now doing.
She is very wise. As are you, my friend. Thank you.
Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, trying to network with readers. Discovering which of those efforts brings results is the real key. I used to do real well at shoutlife.com, but the place has changed since then, and I never go there any more. I miss the old Shoutlife days–connected with a lot of readers there.
Thanks, Frank. I’ve never been on Shoutlife. I can barely keep up with Facebook. I refuse to be a twit and I don’t care to pin anything. There are so many and I find I get nothing done if I do too many.
It’s all about balance. I’m not a big self-promoter at all (way too busy), I just make a single announcement each time I release a product (although there is one old project I am pushing in various ways, here and there).
It can pay to be on all the main networks (FB, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, even LinkedIn, believe it or not). YouTube is the web’s second largest search engine – why shut out such a large resource? As for Twitter, I rarely tweet, but just last week I tweeted the release of another ebook, and it was retweeted by a famous guy with 37,000+ followers, and I immediately saw a spike in sales as a direct result.
I also did a giveaway via a website called Dream, which required entrants to tweet or FB to enter, and I achieved a total tweet/FB reach of 42,000+ for that book.
Goodreads is running a giveaway for me right now, and in less than a week, I’ve got about 300 entrants – and I’m only giving away three copies of one book.
So, the networks can be useful, but the trick is to not get sucked into them because they are a huge timesink that takes away from writing time. You just have to carefully budget your time – but not ignore possible avenues entirely, either. Remember, this is a word-of-mouth industry, and word-of-mouth travels via the web in this day and age.
Don’t worry
Your reviews will be going up by one more. I like to blog about my book reviews before putting them up and you are up next weekend.
Thank you, Morgan.
Diane, just keep putting one foot in front of the other.Think of it! You’re sold 110 more books than someone who never had the courage to complete a book.
Thank you, Janalyn.
Come on Diane – you’ve made a good product! Your book launched well. You can do this – book trailer – interviews – book tours, enter some contests.
Some people hire others to do their tweeting and stuff, (I do it for like 6 websites) but you have enough personality to do it yourself! All you need to do is link your Facebook author page to your twitter account, and every time you post on the author page, it will auto post to twitter. Add a few hashtags, and the following will come, along with sales!
Can’t even have a pity party. All my very cool friends won’t let me.
also, I left you an amazon review a few days ago
your 13th! – Pauline
I know you did…because you awesomeness x 10.
I actually think you’re off to a great start, Diane. I think ASCS sold like 31 copies the first month…
Thank you, Kerry. ASCS is a great book and deserves to sell a million copies. Small presses do not sell nearly as much as the larger houses and I know this, but our hopes do get high in the start.
Thankfully, I had my expectations lower than the typical first-time novelist because I had a non-fiction book publish a few years before. It sold barely over 800 copies, and half of those were in the first two months.
That was a different time, though. Less connected. Authors can do so much more to sell their books today. Still can’t force it, though. Can’t MAKE it happen.
That’s not the reaso we’re writing anyway, though, right? We write because we think we have something to say. And we–if we’re thinking correctly–are chiefly writing for that Audience of One (as Mr. Gerke likes to call Him). You did your best, right? Told the story you wanted to tell? So you’ve already pleased the one that matters most.
The rest is just gravy.
Had to go there and make all kinds of sense, huh?
I know this and it is so very true. It is gravy and I do have a good helping of gravy to start off with. I am blessed and completely happy with the story God allowed me to tell.
Oh chica, please don’t feel bad, you’ve sold twice as many as my first book ever did…It is very hard out there to get noticed among all the other people like ourselves who are trying and vying to get recognized! Try to keep a stiff upper lip about it. People are reluctant to purchase from an author they’ve never heard of before. (no matter how inexpensive the copy is!)
I will certainly give you a review when I am done reading it!
Thank you, Denise. xxooxxoo
Having a goal like that is great, Diane. You know what will make your sales higher? Writing another one and getting it out there! Most new authors sell less than 100 copies in the first year.
Thank you, Lisa. I really have nothing to pout about, do I?
Lisa is right. Also, regarding goals: a mentor of mine once gave me great advice – never set a goal over which you have little or no control. Noodle that one.
No one told me this was going to involve nudity. I’m glad you’re so honest Diane, thanks for that. As soon as I met you, I knew I wanted to read this book, then I had to find the cord for my Kindle, get on FB and find the name of the book again, those two things alone cost two weeks – sparkly stuff, (never did find that dang cord either, fortunately I had enough juice to grab IAO, MUST find it to read though). Keep up that manual labor, start thinking about your next project and let your future readers quest. If you write it, they will come, eventually, you watch.
Aww…thank you so much, Stephanie.
Diane, Patience!!! 110 books is fantastic for a new author in the first month as those above have said. Besides – look at it this way – You got me to read Winter!!! That is an accomplishment!!! And this was how many months after it was released??? Other readers will be a stimulus to read your girl like you were for me to read Winter!!!
Rome was not built in one day and neither is a good writing career. I want to know what’s next in the annals of Diane Graham and her works of Spec Fic??? Any Clues???
And look at it this way – you’ve got one novel done. The second one will not take as long because you have past the learning curve with The Girl. GRIN
Keep writing and praying and marketing. You have a quality product and it shows to those who love the genre and have read the genre for years as I have.
110 copies in two months is considered “lukewarm”? Twenty-six in one month made you sad?
I think I need to cry again.
Yes, it is all a matter of perspective. I have a friend who also wrote a memoire. A few months after his came out he was bemoaning the fact that it had only sold a few. When I asked him how many that way, he said “only a couple thousand”. I then had to explain that most authors would be envious of those numbers, and that typical books by first-time authors rarely sell more than a few hundred copies.
He was grateful for the information. Changed his perspective entirely.
I think the number one goal for an author for indie presses like ours (after glorifying God in all you do) should be to sell enough to earn back what it cost to produce the book. If you can do that, then at least you’re not a burden on the person who took a chance on you.
Along with that, I think you should be the biggest cheerleader for the publishing house as you can be. Make it your goal to make the entire publishing house successful.
Focus on those things and you may not be a bestselling author, but you will always be a successful author.
I try to do all of that. That is one thing about small presses I adore…the teamwork is phenomenal.
Sorry, Sparrow. I was being a brat. Please forgive me. There are so many more worthy than I. I don’t have to tell you about frustration. Please don’t cry. Big hug.
I hope to write a review. I’ve held off on buying the book because I already have a pile of them I am reading simultaneously. But purchase it I will. Review it I will. Blog it I also will. I have my borrowed boy for awhile yet, and 24/7 caregiving for someone else’s child and the child that has special needs sucks all of my energy at this time.
You are a busy Silly Girl and you never need to explain to me, my friend. I was having a moment and am now over it. Forgive my whining.
Love you.
Love you back.
My Dearest Youngest Daughter,
I will tell you like you tell your children,”SUCK IT UP,” You worked too hard and became physically exauhsted. Do I need to do you like I did when you were little? Go take a nap and wake up refreshed. Then get up and get something done about whatever is bugging you. Hugs and kisses.
You always know what is best for me, Momma. xxooxx Let’s have some toast and wear sweatpants.
They make great points, Diane. You’ve got time for sales to build. An interview I did recently with Robin Sullivan and Hugh Howey (both well-versed in indie success) taught me that it takes a few excellent books before word of mouth starts to build. Focus on book two and don’t worry about all this. Hey, you’re farther along than I am.