crazy, my novel's been read 114,328 times since I 'published' it
Late the other night I re-did my novel's web site after getting the latest sales/download data from Alcora.
Since I wrote and "published" it, it's been downloaded a little more than 114,000 times.
I've traveled the mainstream path before under a different name (literary agent, 'real' publisher, etc) and it didn't feel like the right route this time around -- for one thing, didn't have the patience to wait 18 months... or longer... to see how the public would respond to my new book. Secondly, I knew there was a *chance* I could ride the e-book craze stirred up by the Kindle, Nook, etc.
Here's how I did it, in case anyone else who is a good writer and committed to their craft wants to copy my strategy -- and hopefully reap similar rewards (no guarantees though!):
1. I uploaded a free sample to the novel's homepage, and to Alcora9, a boutique e-book distribution service.
2. I was NOT afraid to shamelessly self-promote at the beginning. You have to believe in your work!
3. I encouraged my friends to read Blown and pass the PDF file to their friends, upload it to sharing sites, etc. I think this was the most important part.
4. Patience! For the first 2 months, it seemed like no one except for my close friends and the occasional random person had actually read it. Slowly, it began to get traction on email forwards and the sharing sites.
5. Forget about it! I literally stopped caring/thinking about this book, and moved on with my life. I checked my stats one day and was surprised to see it was starting to get "random" downloads & purchases all on its own.
6. It went logarithmic at that point. Word of mouth is a scary, powerful force once it gets underway. Don't be afraid to give away your work for free at first, and definitely "seed" the big sharing sites. They will be the wind at your back a few months down the road.
that's it! I believe there's plenty of room for success in the e-book space; Amazon's revenues from Kindle downloads this year alone are expected to be above $5 billion. And nearly $8 billion next year.
Since I wrote and "published" it, it's been downloaded a little more than 114,000 times.
I've traveled the mainstream path before under a different name (literary agent, 'real' publisher, etc) and it didn't feel like the right route this time around -- for one thing, didn't have the patience to wait 18 months... or longer... to see how the public would respond to my new book. Secondly, I knew there was a *chance* I could ride the e-book craze stirred up by the Kindle, Nook, etc.
Here's how I did it, in case anyone else who is a good writer and committed to their craft wants to copy my strategy -- and hopefully reap similar rewards (no guarantees though!):
1. I uploaded a free sample to the novel's homepage, and to Alcora9, a boutique e-book distribution service.
2. I was NOT afraid to shamelessly self-promote at the beginning. You have to believe in your work!
3. I encouraged my friends to read Blown and pass the PDF file to their friends, upload it to sharing sites, etc. I think this was the most important part.
4. Patience! For the first 2 months, it seemed like no one except for my close friends and the occasional random person had actually read it. Slowly, it began to get traction on email forwards and the sharing sites.
5. Forget about it! I literally stopped caring/thinking about this book, and moved on with my life. I checked my stats one day and was surprised to see it was starting to get "random" downloads & purchases all on its own.
6. It went logarithmic at that point. Word of mouth is a scary, powerful force once it gets underway. Don't be afraid to give away your work for free at first, and definitely "seed" the big sharing sites. They will be the wind at your back a few months down the road.
that's it! I believe there's plenty of room for success in the e-book space; Amazon's revenues from Kindle downloads this year alone are expected to be above $5 billion. And nearly $8 billion next year.