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Post by garyweston on Aug 30, 2017 14:12:07 GMT -8
Is it just me lost on the Barnes and Noble website when checking the sales ranking?? The site has been remodeled, but badly as anything B and N usually is and does. Nobody bothers with the reviews because it is notoriously pathetic. We used to have a rough idea of how our books were doing in the ratings, but not now. Is it just me or could it be any worse??? I'll just take b and n off my speed-dial.
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Ria Stone
SWF Writers
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Post by Ria Stone on Aug 31, 2017 7:57:59 GMT -8
Is it just me lost on the Barnes and Noble website when checking the sales ranking?? The site has been remodeled, but badly as anything B and N usually is and does. Nobody bothers with the reviews because it is notoriously pathetic. We used to have a rough idea of how our books were doing in the ratings, but not now. Is it just me or could it be any worse??? I'll just take b and n off my speed-dial. Hola Gary, just took a look at B&N's new website. At least, it easier to use than before.
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Post by jaydax on Sept 18, 2017 9:06:33 GMT -8
It's easy to work out how much an author is getting at Amazon. Just look at their rank in Amazon paid. From that use one of the many tools available online to find sales. Deduct 10 cents for delivery and work out 70%. That's the gross book earnings. Working out net is a different matter entirely. You have no way of knowing what expenses the author has. New computers and hardware take a substantial slice. Internet has to be paid for. Promotions cost money. Business cards? Bookmarks and other printing costs? Advertising? Research trips? This hobby of mine is costing me money Mr Taxman.
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chelsfield
SWF Writers
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Post by chelsfield on Sept 18, 2017 22:18:19 GMT -8
On the other hand, you know your own expenses, how much you charge, how much you get. You can certainly work out your own net earnings. As you say, jaydax, for most of us not a pretty sight. Probably why most of us don't go there...
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Post by Ted on Sept 19, 2017 18:16:47 GMT -8
Ignorance is blisss when it comes to author earnings.
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Post by garyweston on Sept 26, 2017 12:12:15 GMT -8
I'm going to dream up something else that won't make me a fortune. I'm going to paint a fantasy painting, quite large, based on my "Dusty" books. I dreamed the images in the story when off my head with booze but some readers seemed to like it. The Plane is a sentient living dimension that gathered up "creatures" of light, such as living rainbows and ghosts. The whole thing is composed of light and it will be a nightmare to paint. Worse still, I'll have to read one of the books again, probably number five or six, to remember what the hell I wrote. Maybe I'll need to be plastered again to even attempt it.
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Post by galatea on Oct 2, 2017 11:15:43 GMT -8
Gary, do you post your artwork online? Just interested in seeing them.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Oct 2, 2017 11:37:38 GMT -8
I had a couple of unusual download days recently and wondered if anyone here had experienced something similar and had any idea what caused it? In in the interests of full disclosure this is what I know: AmZn96/105 downloads on Feb 1st were for On a Winter's Eve27/30 downloads on Feb 2nd were for On a Winter's EveSmash30/31 downloads on Feb 1st were for On a Winter's Eve9/14 downloads on Feb 2nd were for On a Winter's Eve
I had submitted a couple of my stories to professional reviewers in attempt to get some ratings - checking these sites shows no reviews as of yet, however. My artist friend added the latest cover he did for me under a new category on his website ( Book Covers) and generously added a link to my Smashwords author page. None of the sites (and there were only 6 of them) to which I submitted a story for review has done so, and nearly every download was for the same story, so I'm not sure if the addition of a link to my author page on Smashwords could have been responsible. It's more like someone put a link to that specific story somewhere, seeing as how it got the bulk of the downloads. Any one got any ideas or experienced a similar phenomenon? FYI I typically get a handful of downloads, 1-2 on a typical day, some times nothing for days on end, so this was phenomenal for me. Loved it. Now if some of these will leave some ratings and reviews I'll be even more tickled. Good News Chris, there´s a backlink app somewhere, where you can try to find who is linking to your website or other sites.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Oct 2, 2017 11:56:28 GMT -8
What authors need is a retail/distribution site created by authors who've experienced all the shi*. Ted, I wonder if there is anywhere on this site that contributing authors can just have a brief paragraph on the mechanics and promotion of their publishing. For instance, Gary doesn't publish with Smash, but I know he distributes his work through other channels aside from Amazon. Many others have tried different ways of publishing and promotion. I know I could hunt through different threads to discover what Gary or Julie or you are doing to distribute your books, but that would take a while and I am sure to miss pearls. I also acknowledge that we have our profiles, but could there be a more visible way, readily available to newbies and those like myself who think, "now I know DJ had some good advice on this, now where is it?!" I like your idea Chelsfield. While I did post spreadsheet images on my blog about my efforts to self-publish with different vendors, here it is in brief. - I publish through Smashwords primarily because the system works well for me.
But, SW does not offer PODs, so for my one novel, I went to a small press, The Write Place, which worked out fine. - I tried Lulu but I have to resubmit my manuscript for POD. My issue not Lulu´s
- I tried D2D but their system screwed up my manuscript so I gave up. I found their customer service less than helpful.
- Tried Gumroad but their service is no longer free and if I recall correctly, I had some issue with their registration form regarding financial info, I think they don´t take paypal.
- I published RKFNC on Amazon, too. It´s ok.
Also, I got Mocktails printed locally for sale in my community.
Still working on getting PODs available.
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Oct 2, 2017 23:22:25 GMT -8
Ria, good stuff. Thanks for that. Ted did create a thread/section under the General Discussion section - Advice from Pro's (sic).
It hasn't really worked. Could probably do with a more descriptive title and being rehomed in the Author section.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Nov 18, 2017 6:23:31 GMT -8
Browsing through previous posts. Aren't some of the "results" regarding the health benefits of drinking often in conflict, one month - drinking moderately is good for you, the next month any amount of drinking is not good for you. Same with coffee studies?
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Ria Stone
SWF Writers
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Joined: Oct 30, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -8
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Post by Ria Stone on Nov 18, 2017 6:31:31 GMT -8
Revenue from the sale of my books goes to my PP acct which is actually a credit card. The other day while looking at my accounts, I thought, hmmm, the balance on my PP is different, wonder what happened? My first thought was hackers not sales.
Took a look at my SW acct and yep, I sold a few copies of Mocktails and since I've only been promoting the book on Twitter now and them when it seems appropriate, I know that Twitter works for promotion!!! Sales came from Apple, B&N, and Kobo which always amazes me.
While it wasn't much, it is heartening to see my balance bump up a bit.
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Post by djmills on Nov 18, 2017 16:15:25 GMT -8
Hi Ria I visited your Smashwords About page. I like your Interview answers. :-) I noticed that you only have one fiction book, but 3 non fiction. Well done. You should be seeing the "halo" effect on your non fiction, which is when someone likes one book they will buy others by the same author. And may write a review. As you write more fiction, you will see the same "halo" effect with them, too. I only noticed my fiction "halo" effect after I published the 15th story. But, by the time I had over 20 stories up, the sales picked up, even on Amazon which was usually 1 or 2 a month. So, write more fiction and publish, because that is the best way to get more sales. I am now off to visit your blog. :-)
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Nov 18, 2017 21:17:10 GMT -8
Hi Ria I visited your Smashwords About page. I like your Interview answers. :-) I noticed that you only have one fiction book, but 3 non fiction. Well done. You should be seeing the "halo" effect on your non fiction, which is when someone likes one book they will buy others by the same author. And may write a review. As you write more fiction, you will see the same "halo" effect with them, too. I only noticed my fiction "halo" effect after I published the 15th story. But, by the time I had over 20 stories up, the sales picked up, even on Amazon which was usually 1 or 2 a month. So, write more fiction and publish, because that is the best way to get more sales. I am now off to visit your blog. :-) Thanks for the kind words. I wish it were the halo effect. Sometimes I call the sales "pity sales", friends and family who buy my works to make me feel better :-) But, I still think the "Mocktails" sales came from Twitter interaction. Around the holidays, you see tweets about holiday drinking. This year, I am seeing tweets and articles about mocktails, so I added my 2 cents and a link. I am glad you are seeing a "halo effect" on the sales of your series. That's a lot of work. I am still trying to find my voice or my niche or whatever. Good luck with your sales.
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Nov 19, 2017 0:14:31 GMT -8
dj, ria,
I do think there is something to the critical mass or halo effect. What happens though is that most writers aren't as persistent with the writing after what they see as the failure of their first publication. They say differently, but quite a few still believe that the first time will be the big break. You see it on this discussion list - people who are really present here while they are writing, but once nothing really happens, you never hear from them again.
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