
E-Pubbing Tips and Tricks from Two AQC Pioneers: Ruth Cardello and C. Taylor
#1
Posted 06 May 2012 - 07:26 PM
Ruth Cardello is an AQConnect member and self-pubbed romance author who is currently pursuing the e-publishing route with substantial success. Her recent release, MAID FOR THE BILLIONAIRE -- which is selling for free on Amazon -- has received over 200K downloads since April 2011. And her second book -- priced on Amazon for $2.99 -- is making her $400 a day.
You can read more about Ruth's books and e-publishing journey here: http://www.fromthewr...e-inspired.html
We'd also like to congratulate our own AQC moderate, C. Taylor on being one of the first AQC pioneers in the e-publishing space. Her first release VIRIDIS -- which is selling for free on Amazon -- has already received 16,000 downloads since September 2011. And she plans to soon release her second book in the series for $2.99 on Amazon.
Both women recent participated in an AQConnect E-Publishing chat, which was very extensive in its discussion.
For this reason, we are posting a small excerpt of the chat session (see below) in order to enlight other AQConnect members on the details of how these women have been so successful in their e-pubbing adventures.
One crucial point that we'd like to highlight is that Amazon does not actually let you sell your book for free on Amazon.
The ladies are using a very interesting trick-of-the-trade to "game" the Amazon system in their favor, and force Amazon to list their books for free. By listing their initial books for free on Amazon, they are gaining thousands of eyeballs on their profiles and other Amazon offerings. The strategy is to either A). eventually change the price on the first book from free to $2.99 as the book climbs up the Amazon ranking and receive more and more viewers and potential buyers B). list additional e-books at the traditional cost of $2.99
Very smart and savvy -- and a perfect example of how there's no true road map in this arena and you have to be willing to experiment as part of the adventure.
CHAT TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT:
10/20/2011 , 08:07 PM RC Lewis THE CHAT HAS BEGUN!
10/20/2011 , 08:07 PM RC Lewis (REMINDER, NO MORE GREETING PEOPLE WHO COME IN--THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US, AND IT CLOGS UP THE CHAT)
10/20/2011 , 08:07 PM RC Lewis OKAY, TONIGHT'S TOPIC (OBVIOUSLY) IS E-PUBLISHING
10/20/2011 , 08:07 PM jwmstudio Can Ruth go first because of the baby thing?
10/20/2011 , 08:07 PM RC Lewis WE HAVE A FEW PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WHO'VE BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM RC Lewis RUTH HAS A COUPLE OF ROMANCES OUT, CTAY RECENTLY RELEASED HER STEAMPUNK ROMANCE NOVEL, AND I BELIEVE PATRICIA K HAS A BOOK OUT, TOO.
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM katieg And thank you to Ruth and Patricia for joining in. And you, too, Cali.
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM RuthCardello yw
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM C. Taylor happy to!
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM RC Lewis RUTH CAN DEFINITELY GO FIRST, BECAUSE IT'S RATHER IMPRESSIVE.
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM Patricia k Happy to answer questions.
10/20/2011 , 08:08 PM C. Taylor Def. impressive!!
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM RuthCardello I'll help however you'd like
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM A.M.Supinger *impressed*
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM RuthCardello my experience has been short but what a great ride so far
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM RC Lewis THERE'S MORE DETAIL IN AN INTERVIEW ON FROM THE WRITE ANGLE (WHICH CALI LINKED TO EARLIER ... GOT THAT HANDY STILL?)
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM C. Taylor http://www.fromthewr...e-inspired.html
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM RC Lewis IN SHORT, RUTH HAS SUCCESSFULLY WORKED THE "FIRST BOOK FREE AS BAIT" ANGLE.
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM C. Taylor Can you give us your current numbers so far ruthie?
10/20/2011 , 08:09 PM RuthCardello I put my first book up for FREE on Smashwords (to make it free on Amazon) back in April
10/20/2011 , 08:10 PM RuthCardello I'm still making about $400 a day on my book...but my Amazon numbers fluctuate so I'm counting my itunes
10/20/2011 , 08:10 PM Patricia k My book Gentleman Companion One came out in May. I just published a trade paperback version. I am working on the second book of the series.
10/20/2011 , 08:10 PM RuthCardello Free has definitely been good for me financially
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM RuthCardello Of course it fluctuates
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM DC Rich How does free = $400 a day?
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM RC Lewis (TO CLARIFY FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BLOG YET, HER 2ND BOOK IS *NOT* FREE)
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM Lori S. Lori S. has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM RC Lewis (THAT'S WHAT I MEANT BY 1ST BOOK FREE AS "BAIT")
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM RuthCardello first book is free (the lure) second book is 2.99
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM C. Taylor DC, you hook them with the first free book, and then they don't mind purchasing the 2nd
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM DC Rich Will a third be 3.99?
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM sweetlemon What have your sales been on book2?
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM Skyval Skyval has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:11 PM RuthCardello 2.99 gives you 75% profit via Amazon
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RuthCardello 60% profit via Smashwords/itunes
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RC Lewis THE IDEA IS THAT A SELF-PUBLISHED, UNKNOWN AUTHOR IS A RISK. "FREE" MEANS NOTHING RISKED OTHER THAN TIME.
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM TBruce how does itunes fit into this?
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM DC Rich 400 a day must be a lot of downloads!
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RuthCardello at the lower .99 you only get 35%
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RC Lewis ONCE THEY DECIDE THEY LIKE YOU, THEY'RE WILLING TO SHELL OUT FOR FUTURE WORK.
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RuthCardello Yes :)
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM C. Taylor exactly, RC!
10/20/2011 , 08:12 PM RC Lewis ITUNES SELLS BOOKS (THE IBOOKSTORE) FOR IPAD, ETC.
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM AuthorPhoenix89 Good to know.
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello I average on Amazon 150 a day right now
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello and itunes is trickier to figure
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM sweetlemon Ruth, what did u do to market ur first?
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello but I haven't left the top 10 yet
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM DC Rich The second book does not need to be a sequel, just another good read?
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM C. Taylor Keep in mind though that Amazon won't let you put your book out for free. You have to do some maneuvering.
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello On Amazon I'm lower (300+)
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RC Lewis I CAN'T REMEMBER IF RUTH'S IS A SEQUEL...
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello Cali, you had a whole system
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM AuthorPhoenix89 And what kind of maneuvering is that?
10/20/2011 , 08:13 PM RuthCardello and you just succeeded!
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM C. Taylor yes, a series
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM katieg Wait. I thought it was free on Amazon?
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM RC Lewis IT HAS TO BE OFFERED FREE ELSEWHERE, AND GET REPORTED TO AMAZON AS BEING FREE ELSEWHERE, TO A CERTAIN DEGREE... THEN THEY'LL AUTO-LOWER IT.
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM RC Lewis (IS THAT ROUGHLY ACCURATE?)
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM AuthorPhoenix89 Mk.
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM RuthCardello DC, I don't know, but I would think if your writing was s trong people would look for you
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM C. Taylor I sort of did, for going free, and for me the key was using smashwords to go free on B&N and itunes
10/20/2011 , 08:14 PM TBruce ruth: is your book self-published or through a publishing company?
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RuthCardello I'm self pubbed
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM DC Rich itunes is another format?
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RC Lewis ITUNES IS A STORE
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM C. Taylor it's books for ipads
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RC Lewis IT'S THE EPUB FORMAT, SAME AS B&N
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM DC Rich oh.
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM TBruce and even self-pubbed authors don't get to set their own price on Amazon?
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RC Lewis YES, TERRI, THEY DO, BUT "FREE" ISN'T AN OPTION GIVEN.
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RuthCardello Tb, they do about 99 cents
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM J. Lea Lopez you can set your price, tbruce. just not free on amazon
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM C. Taylor They do, but the min. is .99
10/20/2011 , 08:15 PM RuthCardello above
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM TBruce LOL
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM C. Taylor So you have to force their hand.
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM TBruce so they have a floor on what the author can set it as
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM RuthCardello they try to reserve the FREE option as a promotional perk for big authors
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM RuthCardello yes, they don't want everyone putting free books up
10/20/2011 , 08:16 PM DC Rich So we have stores: Amazon, itunes, B&N. And we have pricing: Free .99 - what 3.99? Then we have platforms, Kindle, nook, iPad. Does that about cover things?
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM C. Taylor to whatever you want... no limit on the max
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM TBruce publishers: Createspace, smashwords, lulu, iuniverse...
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM RC Lewis WHICH MAKES SENSE ... THEY WANT TO MAKE SOME MONEY ON IT.
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM RuthCardello pretty much...except that as you learn more you'll become more savvy about which route you take to publish
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM jwmstudio Other than telling them you are free elsewhere, does anyone know how Amazon decides who gets to be free?
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM TBruce amendment to my statement: (self) publishers
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM C. Taylor Those aren't actually ebooks, but rather self pubing paper
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM RC Lewis OTHER THAN SMASHWORDS
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM RC Lewis CREATESPACE, LULU, AND IUNIVERSE ARE ALL DEAD-TREE-BOOK SELF-PUBBERS
10/20/2011 , 08:17 PM RuthCardello For example, I sell to itunes via Smashwords....benefit..exposure, ease, support
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM DC Rich Smashwords = self pub e-book?
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM RC Lewis JWM, I IMAGINE THE ONLY OTHER REASON THEY DO IT IS IF IT'S A BENEFIT TO THEM
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM TBruce what is the e-self-pubbing for kindle through Amazon entity called them if it's not createspace?
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM C. Taylor Who knows as far as going free, but I found that soon after going free on b&N I went free on Amazon
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM RuthCardello negative of not going directly through itunes -- waiting longer to know your sales, longer wait for payout
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM RC Lewis DEAN, HANG ONTO THAT--I WANT TO TALK MORE IN-DEPTH ABOUT SMASH IN A MINUTE
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM J. Lea Lopez kindle direct publishing, tbruce
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM RC Lewis KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING, TERRI
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM A.M.Supinger if you self-publish one book, do you have less chance of getting an agent for traditional publishing?
10/20/2011 , 08:18 PM C. Taylor Granted, I also harrassed them constantly with the tell us of a lower price button
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RC Lewis AM, THAT VARIES GINORMOUSLY
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM Patricia k I wanted to add BookBaby. Giant expansion to multiple countries now for ebooks
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RuthCardello AM, I am approached by agents and publicists
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RuthCardello I've even had Apple come looking for my second book
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM C. Taylor AM, not with that book
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RC Lewis BOOKBABY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT KIND OF SERVICE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT SHORTLY
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM AuthorPhoenix89 wow
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM TBruce patrick: what is bookbaby (vendor, publisher?)
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RuthCardello one you are out there...it's all a numbers game
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM C. Taylor That's cause your numbers are crazy!
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM TBruce nm
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM A.M.Supinger *traditionally publishing another book
10/20/2011 , 08:19 PM RuthCardello can you get noticed and how much do they think you will make for them
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM RuthCardello I had a publisher ask me if I was interested and I asked if she could pay what I'm making
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM RC Lewis BOOKBABY ISN'T A PUBLISHER. THEY'RE A SERVICE PROVIDER.
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM RuthCardello she couldn't
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM Jennie Jennie has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM jwmstudio How cool Ruth!
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM RuthCardello so sometimes it doesn't make sense to go to a publisher after you self-pub
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM C. Taylor Nice position to be in!
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM A.M.Supinger very cool, Ruth
10/20/2011 , 08:20 PM RC Lewis IT'S ONE STEP TO BE SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH TO HAVE THE OPTION OF GOING TRADITIONAL.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM TBruce Ruth: so I assume this means your book is of a very high/professional quality.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM RC Lewis THEN IT'S ANOTHER STEP TO DECIDE IF GOING TRADITIONAL CAN BENEFIT YOU
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM RuthCardello I'm working with several traditionally pubbed authors who want to make more money
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM DC Rich Somehow I think Ruth's story is more of an exception than the rule.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM TBruce did you get professional editing? professional cover art? professional layout help? Etc. Can you talk a bit about that, how much you invested up front money wise, etc.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM jwmstudio Ruth's first book is very good.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM RC Lewis TRULY, EVERY BIG SUCCESS STORY IS SOMETHING OF AN EXCEPTION.
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM RuthCardello TB, it represents it's genre well...it won't change the world, but it is what it promised to be
10/20/2011 , 08:21 PM Skyval What was the ramp up time to see some real numbers as far as reads?
10/20/2011 , 08:22 PM RuthCardello TB, I advocate having an editor.....no question. But I have three kids and went on without one. Just used friends to edit. Not the best route, but if it's all you can do a really good story will survive some errors.
10/20/2011 , 08:22 PM sweetlemon How did you get ur name out there?
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM RuthCardello I networked via Twitter, Facebook, contests...blogs
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM RuthCardello I read a lot of Joe Konrath to see what he thought was a waste of time
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM DC Rich How many followers on twitter, and your blog?
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM sweetlemon How long did it take to build a good following?
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM RC Lewis PRETTY MUCH THE SAME WAY ANY OF US TRY TO GET OUR NAMES OUT THERE.
10/20/2011 , 08:23 PM RuthCardello I'm actually now working on youtube commercials
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM RC Lewis SO BOOK TRAILERS?
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM RuthCardello my blog is pathetic
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM DC Rich Ok, no blog, how many followers on twitter?
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM Whimsical_Werecat Whimsical_Werecat has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM RuthCardello no, but I am doing book trailer/commercials as part of a contest
10/20/2011 , 08:24 PM DC Rich Ruth, contact Tansy Ragwort, she does video work.
10/20/2011 , 08:25 PM RuthCardello I'm making a website of videos people can download.....interviews with authors, interviews with epubbed people, techie people
10/20/2011 , 08:25 PM Skyval No publicist?
10/20/2011 , 08:25 PM RuthCardello DC, thanks
10/20/2011 , 08:25 PM RuthCardello Skyval, the st range thing is I get a lot of phonecalls from publicists..and they ask me how I'm doing it...because they want to learn
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM sweetlemon Nice.
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RuthCardello they are on the same wave of change...trying to keep up right along with the writers
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM Skyval Cool, Ruth. A new world for them no, too.
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RC Lewis BOOKS ARE SUCH A WORD-OF-MOUTH BUSINESS
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM C. Taylor So true, RC!
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RC Lewis YOU JUST NEED TO REACH A CERTAIN CRITICAL MASS OF "INITIAL READERS" TO SPREAD THE FIRE
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RuthCardello yes, that's why there has never been a better time to jump in
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM DC Rich Ruth - sounds like you may have budding consulting business in the making
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RuthCardello IF you are ready
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM C. Taylor Here's hoping!
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM RC Lewis (WHAT THAT MAGIC NUMBER IS, I DON'T KNOW ... AND THE PRODUCT HAS TO BE GOOD ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN THAT "FIRE")
10/20/2011 , 08:26 PM Skyval Wondering if the sucess rate differs depending on the genre.
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM C. Taylor I think it does, Skyval.
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RC Lewis I'M SURE IT DOES, SKY
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RuthCardello DC, at least a cheap info website....I figure people will pay 99 cents a video....but really the goal is more traffic
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM Skyval C.Tay, did you epub?
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RuthCardello because I don't care about consulting....just writing
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM C. Taylor I did on 9/1
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM DC Rich genre would be a factor.
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RC Lewis I THINK GENRES IN GENERAL DO BETTER THAN, SAY, LITERARY
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM C. Taylor Went free just over a week ago!
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM Skyval It's Viridis, right? Gonna buy it!
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RC Lewis IT REALLY ALMOST FEELS LIKE A RETURN TO THE IDEA OF PULP FICTION
10/20/2011 , 08:27 PM RuthCardello Cali has been doing great..with a few bumps
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM Jennie Jennie has left the room
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM C. Taylor Cool, Sky! And thanks!
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM RC Lewis OKAY, GUYS, I'M GOING TO CUT IN.
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM C. Taylor Thanks, ruthie. yeah.. a few bumps. lol.
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM RC Lewis I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, TOO, SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE.
10/20/2011 , 08:28 PM RC Lewis ONE QUESTION WAS ABOUT FORMATS.
10/20/2011 , 08:29 PM RC Lewis THE TWO MAJOR FORMATS ARE KINDLE (.AZW, I THINK, WHICH IS JUST A VARIANT OF .MOBI) AND .EPUB
10/20/2011 , 08:29 PM J. Lea Lopez here's a good link on formats: http://en.wikipedia...._e-book_formats
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM J. Lea Lopez there's a nice handy chart about 2/3 of the way down the page
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM J. Lea Lopez you're welcome :)
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM RC Lewis A BIG QUESTION FOR PEOPLE THINKING OF E-PUBBING IS WHETHER THEY WANT/CAN DO THE FORMATTING THEMSELVES
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM RuthCardello If you're going to format your own stuff...start with the Smashwords formatting free book
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM RuthCardello then you have a clean doc you can adjust to Kindle
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM C. Taylor The AQ method of saving it is a web format and then throwing it into calibre worked for me.
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM RC Lewis OPINIONS ACTUALLY VARY A LITTLE ON THAT, SO I'M GOING TO DISAGREE WITH RUTH.
10/20/2011 , 08:30 PM RuthCardello it's a matter of carefully following directions
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM RC Lewis YES, I PREFER AQCREW'S INSTRUCTIONS, TOO.
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM RC Lewis PARTICULARLY IF YOU'RE NOT THAT TECH-SAVVY
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM RuthCardello Cali, I think Smashwords does the same
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM J. Lea Lopez i think it depends on your technical ability and understanding lol
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM RuthCardello I think Kindle just meant adding page breaks
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM RC Lewis PERSONALLY, I'M NOT A FAN OF THE SMASHWORDS "MEAT-GRINDER" AND I'VE SEEN A *LOT* OF ERRORS COME OUT OF IT. BUT THAT'S ME, AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR THEM.
10/20/2011 , 08:31 PM C. Taylor Ruthie, they probably do. You upload a .doc file for them
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM RuthCardello and then putting it through the mobi book whatever...lol
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM C. Taylor I used Calibre
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM RuthCardello Please, I am a formatting novice
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM RC Lewis THERE ARE MANY, MANY WAYS TO DO IT
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM RuthCardello I'll take good advice on the matter
10/20/2011 , 08:32 PM Jemi Jemi has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM RC Lewis HERE'S ONE LINK FOR THOSE WHO ARE A *LITTLE* COMFORTABLE USING COMPUTERS:
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM RC Lewis http://cameronchapma...he-easy-way.htm
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM RuthCardello RC, you brought up a good point about the meatgrinder
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM Michelle4Laughs Michelle4Laughs has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM RuthCardello but that isn't the part I suggested
10/20/2011 , 08:33 PM RuthCardello I suggested their book
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RuthCardello I uploaded directly to Kindle because I'd heard the same stories about the meatgrinder
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RuthCardello ooooh there is my baby
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RC Lewis I KNOW, RUTH, BUT I ALSO DIDN'T LIKE THE RESULTS I GOT FROM FOLLOWING THEIR SUGGESTIONS COMPARED TO WHAT I GOT DOING MORE NITTY-GRITTY MYSELF
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM C. Taylor For smashwords, I just uploaded a page#/header/footer free .doc and it was fine
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RuthCardello hey! gotta run! Cali knows as much as I do! Hope it was helpful to have me here. Good luck everyone!
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RC Lewis (UNDERSTAND, I'M A CONTROL FREAK *AND* A PERFECTIONIST)
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM C. Taylor Bye ruthie!
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM RC Lewis THANKS, RUTH, FOR JOINING US. GOOD NIGHT!
10/20/2011 , 08:34 PM Skyval A trillion thanks, Ruth
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM Lori S. Thanks, Ruth!
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM RC Lewis THE LINK I GAVE ABOVE ALLOWS YOU A LOT OF CONTROL AND TAILORING OF THE END PRODUCT.
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM C. Taylor I can probably answer any other questions you may have had for Ruthie, since I sort of know what she's been doing.
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM katieg Thanks, Ruth!
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM RC Lewis IF YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, AND IF EVEN THE SMASHWORDS INSTRUCTIONS SCARE YOU, A SERVICE LIKE BOOKBABY MAY WELL BE WORTH IT
10/20/2011 , 08:35 PM RC Lewis (SIDE NOTE: BOOKBABY DOES *ALL* THE FORMATTING FOR VARIOUS VENDORS--A REAL HUMAN BEING, NOT A MEAT-GRINDER--AND DISTRIBUTING ... I'VE HEARD THEY GET INTO PLACES LIKE ITUNES MORE DIRECTLY/EFFICIENTLY THAN SMASH ... AQCREW RECOMMENDS)
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM RC Lewis (OR THE COMPANY PETE MORIN USED ... DRAT, FORGOT TO LOOK UP THE NAME!)
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM C. Taylor I found it very simple.
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM jwmstudio Cali what do your numbers look like so far (if you don't mind sharing)
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM katieg I think Patricia is still here, as well.
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM C. Taylor I don't mind. Are we ready to move on from formats
10/20/2011 , 08:36 PM RC Lewis ARE THERE FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT FORMATS AND FORMATTING?
10/20/2011 , 08:37 PM RuthCardello RuthCardello has left the room
10/20/2011 , 08:37 PM RC Lewis TELL US BRIEFLY ABOUT YOUR NUMBERS, CALI, THEN MAYBE WE'LL TALK COVERS.
10/20/2011 , 08:38 PM C. Taylor Do you want the summary from the start or just current numbers
10/20/2011 , 08:38 PM Lori S. I'd love a summary
10/20/2011 , 08:38 PM RC Lewis GO FOR IT. :)
10/20/2011 , 08:39 PM C. Taylor Started free on SW, was .99 on A. Within a month I'd had about 800 downloads on SW and about 80 on Amazon
10/20/2011 , 08:39 PM Dr Anne Dr Anne has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:39 PM C. Taylor Then I went free on Amazon, and the numbers skyrocketed
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM DC Rich bookbaby is almost like an agent?
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM Patricia k no not at all
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM C. Taylor It's been just over a week since I went free on A, and I'm now at about 16K on Amazon
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM RC Lewis (NO, BOOKBABY IS A SERVICE PROVIDER. THEY DO FILE PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION.)
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM Skyval 16k? Damn!
10/20/2011 , 08:40 PM C. Taylor Don't know numbers for B&N or itunes
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM TBruce I just can't believe that a) that there are that many people reading e-books!
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM C. Taylor There was a huge spike when I first went free, and now the numbers are slowing
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM Skyval Where do you see your numbers?
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM TBruce and b) that a .99 cent difference makes...well, such a difference!
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM DC Rich Ctay, 16K vs free, you have another book, or is that .99 cents?
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM C. Taylor Via the KDP website
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM RC Lewis ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT DOWNLOADS DOESN'T *NECESSARILY* EQUAL READERS.
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM C. Taylor The next book will be 2.99
10/20/2011 , 08:41 PM RC Lewis A LOT OF PEOPLE DOWNLOAD A BUNCH OF FREE BOOKS ON KINDLE AND ONLY READ A SMALL FRACTION.
10/20/2011 , 08:42 PM RC Lewis BUT EVEN A FRACTION OF 16K IS PRETTY GOOD-LOOKING
10/20/2011 , 08:42 PM C. Taylor No, it doesn't. I think ruthie's 3's are about 20%
10/20/2011 , 08:42 PM C. Taylor oops! #'s are about 20^
10/20/2011 , 08:42 PM C. Taylor sheesh i can't type 20%
10/20/2011 , 08:42 PM Skyval Lost ctay, what do you mean 20%?
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM RC Lewis BOOK THAT COSTS MONEY HAS ABOUT 20% AS MANY SALES/DOWNLOADS AS FREE BOOK
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM RC Lewis RIGHT?
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM C. Taylor So she's found that 20% of those that downloaded the free book bought book 2, so far
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM C. Taylor yes
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM TBruce interesting
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM Skyval Ah! way cool. Nice return rate.
10/20/2011 , 08:43 PM DC Rich KDP? I'm getting lost in the alphabit.
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM C. Taylor Granted, her numbers have been crazy good from the beginning, so I don't think I'll do quite that amount
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM C. Taylor KDP is the amazon epub group
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM RC Lewis KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING = KDP
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM jwmstudio But those of us who download and don't always read right away can come back in a year when we've read her book and buy the second. It can go on forever.
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM RC Lewis ANOTHER GOOD POST ON E-PUBBING:
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM RC Lewis http://www.fromthewr...ight-tools.html
10/20/2011 , 08:44 PM C. Taylor Ruthie didn't get to her numbers, but her first free book has had over 200K downloads
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM Michelle4Laughs Michelle4Laughs has left the room
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM C. Taylor That's since april
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM Whimsical_Werecat Wow!
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM Lori S. wow
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM RC Lewis YES, JWM, BUT I KNOW OF PEOPLE WHO LITERALLY DOWNLOAD HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS ... MORE BOOKS THAN THEY COULD READ IN TEN OR TWENTY YEARS, LIKELY. 10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM C. Taylor yeah.. wow!
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM Skyval Freakin' A. At 200,000, if only 10% actually read the free download you've got 20k readers.
10/20/2011 , 08:45 PM Jemi Ruthie's become a phenomenon - I don't think many people will get her kinds of numbers! They're incredible!!!
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM RC Lewis (THAT LINK I GAVE IS FROM AQC MEMBER PETE MORIN, WHO JUST RECENTLY LAUNCHED HIS BOOK ... WITH GUIDANCE FROM HIS AGENT!)
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM C. Taylor I think part of getting around the download but don't read is having an intriguing cover
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM RC Lewis I THINK ANOTHER PART IS THAT WORD-OF-MOUTH BUZZ.
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM Michelle4Laughs Michelle4Laughs has entered the room
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM RC Lewis IF IT'S A BOOK YOU'VE HEARD PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT, YOU WANT TO SEE *WHAT THE BIG DEAL IS*
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM DC Rich So agents are still needed with e-pub?
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM C. Taylor yes, but that's harder to get than a good cover. lol
10/20/2011 , 08:46 PM RC Lewis NOT NECESSARILY, DEAN
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM RC Lewis PETE HAS HIS AGENT, SHOPPED HIS MS AROUND, BUT DIDN'T GET ANY BITES FROM PUBLISHERS
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM Whimsical_Werecat Covers are definitely important.
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM RC Lewis SO HIS AGENT SUGGESTED E-PUBLISHING HIMSELF TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE, ETC.
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM DC Rich I can see I've got a LOT of research to do on this particular aspect.
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM C. Taylor Although... Ruthie's first cover? holy crap!! It was HORRIBLE!! And I say that with love, since I gave her first cover a make over. lol.
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM RC Lewis PETE'S AGENT IS VERY FORWARD-THINKING
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM C. Taylor But she still had a TON of downloads
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM Skyval So excited to follow your journey ctay.
10/20/2011 , 08:47 PM C. Taylor Thanks, Sky!
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM DC Rich You can't judge a book by its cover
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM jwmstudio I don't see covers on my kindle unless I look for them. Joe K suggested putting a back cover blurb in the front of you r book so if people like me click it open we can immediately remember why we downloaded it.
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM RC Lewis DECENT COVER (GREAT COVER IS BETTER), TIGHT & COMPELLING DESCRIPTION/BLURB, AND GOOD STUFF ON THE INSIDE
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM TBruce so pete is self-pubbing? Does his agent still get a cut?
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM C. Taylor Actually, for a while, she was scared to get rid of the bad cover because she thought she'd jinx her good numbers
10/20/2011 , 08:48 PM RC Lewis HE *DID* SELF-PUB ... THE BOOK IS OUT.
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM RC Lewis I THINK HE MADE SOME ARRANGEMENT WITH HIS AGENT, BUT SINCE I CAN'T REMEMBER DETAILS, I WON'T GUESS.
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM C. Taylor I actually put my cover IN my doc, so the first page is still the cover
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM A.M.Supinger A.M.Supinger has left the room
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM Skyval Where is he tonight? Wonder how his numbers are going?
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM Lori S. that's a GREAT idea, ctay
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM DC Rich I like that idea Ctay!
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM jwmstudio CTay that's a great idea!
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM C. Taylor He's not doing the free book thing, though. He's going a dif. route
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM Skyval How did you format so the first page is the cover ctay?
10/20/2011 , 08:49 PM C. Taylor Thanks!
10/20/2011 , 08:50 PM C. Taylor I think I just did the add a pic in word, and it worked
10/20/2011 , 08:50 PM Whimsical_Werecat Nice! lol
10/20/2011 , 08:50 PM J. Lea Lopez J. Lea Lopez has left the room
10/20/2011 , 08:50 PM RC Lewis BUT IF YOU INSERT IN WORD, IT SHOULD DEFAULT TO THAT ANYWAY
10/20/2011 , 08:50 PM C. Taylor A whaaa?
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM katieg Did you put the back cover blurb on page 2, Cali?
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM C. Taylor no, I didn't.
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM RC Lewis BUT IN CALI'S CASE, THE COVER ITSELF SAYS ENOUGH
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM katieg Did you include it anywhere?
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM C. Taylor Aw, thanks rc!
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM Skyval How many words for the blurb with epubbing?
10/20/2011 , 08:51 PM RC Lewis YOU'VE GOT THAT LITTLE "TAG-LINE" ON THE COVER
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM RC Lewis I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S A LIMIT, SKY. I RECOMMEND SOMETHING TIGHT LIKE YOU'D WANT ON THE BACK COVER.
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM C. Taylor No katie, I didn't, and after my amazon disaster a few days ago, I'm not uploading a new version unless I have to. lol
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM RC Lewis A LITTLE SHORTER AND MORE "TEASER-Y" THAN A QUERY
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM Jemi And Cali's cover looks great on the Kindle and on my ipod
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM RC Lewis (THAT'S MY OWN TASTE)
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM C. Taylor Yay! so glad to hear it jemi
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM Skyval Buying myself a kindle fire for christmas.
10/20/2011 , 08:52 PM Lori S. what disaster on amazon?
10/20/2011 , 08:53 PM Jemi SKy - I'm jealous! :)
10/20/2011 , 08:53 PM RC Lewis LITTLE TECHNICAL SNAFU, WASN'T IT?
10/20/2011 , 08:53 PM C. Taylor The cover also has a small blurb though, so there's that, and since the cover is the first thing they see, it's not so bad
10/20/2011 , 08:53 PM C. Taylor I don't know... uploaded a new version after they needed it uploaded and POOF!! book no longer available for 8 HOURS!
10/20/2011 , 08:54 PM C. Taylor Killed my rankings
10/20/2011 , 08:54 PM Lori S. yeesh
#2
Posted 07 May 2012 - 09:53 AM
#3
Posted 08 August 2012 - 08:22 AM
With my story Jack, I only had that one story in the series, and numbers were lagging, so I wrote a short story related to JACK, and then put that up for free with an extended sample of JACK, so people would hopefully read on and then want to purchase it. Have to say, the short didn't get as many downloads as when I offered Viridis (a full length novel) for free, BUT it has been enough to give me a nice boost in sales for JACK, so that it's now bringing in more sales than Devil (the second book in the Viridis series) is bringing after being out for 9 months.
I know some people are against giving away their work for free, but I think if you're looking to gain readership and sales--especially if you don't have the backing of a big publisher--then it's a great way to go. As for Ruthie-- her books now landed her on the NYT bestseller's list, and her downloads and sales (even prior to making the NYT) had jumped greatly in numbers. Making the list has also gotten her interest from some pretty big agents-- one of which she signed with.
#4
Posted 10 January 2014 - 03:53 PM
Alright, here I go, let's see if I can phrase my question(s) well enough.
The piece I am working on is a saga or series, it's just that long and trying to cut it down much just kills it. When I first started writing this I thought it was going to be a little short story or two, but it has since grown exponentially. The way I began was in little short, labeling each short as an "episode" in the MS itself, i.e., Episode I, prologue, chapters 1-6, Episode II, prologue & chapters, etc. so-on-and-so-on. Each episode is between 90-120 pages, 6-8 chapters. Each chapter is about 10-12 pages, couple are short at 5-6, a couple longer 12-15, .... all the way through the MS. (1st book is 107k words).
So with that little explanation of structure, question(s): Would it be possible to release the whole series in little bites, an episode or 2 at a time? My thought was if the first couple three would go over well & just give them away, then the rest might sell for $0.25 - 0.50, per release, or something like that, whatever makes reasonable sense. Is it even possible to do something like this, is it allowed by e-book publishers, and would such a marketing strategy be a viable one?
I'm not really trying to make anything like a lot or even much money near so much as just trying to get the story out, without having to eat the costs. Sure, making something off of it would be a good thing, but this really isn't about the $$ for me, it's about telling a story & actually having it heard/read.
I see where you talk of giving away your 1st book to develop readership, etc., and I can see that working for me too. Put out Book 1 for free, then sell Books 2 - ? (probably at least 3-4 books), but I could actually carry this out for probably at least 5 or 6. At some point though, with any and all series/saga stuff, it just falls apart, being just so much of the same. But the overall story does has a final concluding point with The Uprising ending, and new forms of government & all being established.
Well, I think that's it for the moment. And Thanks for this thread, sure looks like some important and useful info!
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