So you have written a book- why not self publish? - Page 6 - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Ian Whates · 11th January 2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarfy

It's been #1 in the Space Opera category for about a month now, and recently managed to break the top #5 in the science fiction category. That's Amazon UK

Yes, I noticed that Scarfy, congratulations!

As someone whose paperback novel (The Noise Within) has also made the #1 spot in Space Opera there and has been bobbling around in the top 10 space opera novels for the past 4 months, I appreciate how many copies you must be shifting, which is great news.

HareBrain · 11th January 2011, 11:27 AM

But where do people get to hear about it? Through searching/browsing Amazon, or by hearing about it elsewhere? (If you know?) And how did you decide on the price? It seems very low to me. Is the market that price-driven? If it were twice as much, how do you think that would affect sales?

(Sorry for all the questions!)

Scarfy · 11th January 2011, 12:24 PM

Ian - Thank you, very much! It's been a bit of a shock, if I'm honest. I almost had a heart attack on 1st January, when I checked my sales numbers for December. Oh - You're still on my TBR list. Going to pick up NOISE WITHIN after I finish Kraken.

Harebrain - Where are people hearing about it? That's a good question. I don't really know. I think it might be a combination of a lot of things - the book is listed under Creative Commons, so that might be helping, as would the availability of it (for free) on the iBookstore. I also have a dedicated website, so people can find out about the series and the book by Googling me or the title... However, I'm not sure that's just it. There's probably something else that's making it popular, but I don't actually know what that is. As to the price, I don't think the market is that price driven - there are lots of titles in the top Scifi books that are £6.99, etc., and they still sell in buckets.

I guess the real test to all of this will be when I put out the second book in the series and ask readers to part with £1.99 for it. That'll be the most telling sign, letting me know whether people were just buying the first one because it was cheap, or because they enjoyed reading it...

Scarfy · 12th January 2011, 08:23 AM

Oh, and if people are interested, I'll report back at the beginning of Feb as to what my sales numbers for January were.

HareBrain · 12th January 2011, 09:56 AM

I'd be interested. And thanks for the previous details.

Virtuous · 12th January 2011, 11:55 PM

Hi Scarfy,

Thanks for your guidance on getting my book onto Amazon Kindle - it's been up for a month and is selling. Why did you list your e-book for free on all the other sites? Was that required by the site or did you make the conscious decision to go for exposure over profit?

Scarfy · 13th January 2011, 10:48 AM

I figured I'd make the first book free, in order to raise the profile of the series. I did actually intend to make the book free on the Kindle, too, but Amazon don't allow you to do so. I've got a blog post about it, here:

Stephen J Sweeney's Blog: Why HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS isn't free on Kindle

Also, there is a small matter of me having re-written the first book. It started off as a simple writing exercise, after I'd finished the second book in the series. I just then sort of kept going, tweaking things here and there, and stripping out scenes that I was never entirely happy with.

I had a topic about it, here:

Rewriting KNIGHTS

So... yeah, it's kind of just happened organically. I've got a few other bits and pieces that I'm going to do, in an attempt to raise the series' profile some more. Will do that around April / May time and see what happens...

Scarfy · 1st February 2011, 08:31 AM

Hi all,

January's all done, so I thought I'd just pop in and post my numbers for the Kindle sales of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS.

In total, the novel sold over 1,100 copies last month, leaving the series now just shy of 1,700 copies overall.

The vast majority of the sales came from Amazon UK - in the US, the sales aren't even in triple figures. Hopefully, that'll change at some point. I've posted a little screenshot below:

Stephen J Sweeney's Photos | Facebook

So, overall a very good month for the book. I'm currently working to remove the remaining typos and tidy up the grammar, as well as proofing both the rewrite and the second book in the series. I'm also still chasing agents, but the rejections are coming in thick and fast right now. Not to worry, I already have people asking me when the second book is coming, so I've managed to gain myself a small fanbase

Menion · 1st February 2011, 10:02 AM

I live in Spain, and say I want to try and publish it in England, should I do it from Spain or should I move back to England (I plan on doing this).

Gary Compton · 1st February 2011, 10:14 AM

Hey, well done Scary. They are impressive figures mate. I'm glad, as you've worked hard at it.

Have you had much feedback on Amazon?

Also, if you maintain 1200 a month over the year, thats pretty dam good.

Ebooks, who would've thought it.

Scarfy · 1st February 2011, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Menion

I live in Spain, and say I want to try and publish it in England, should I do it from Spain or should I move back to England (I plan on doing this).

I think you need to have an UK and US address to work directly with Amazon KDP (might want to check that, though). For places like Lulu and Smashwords, you can get paid to something like Paypal, instead.

Scarfy · 1st February 2011, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Compton

Have you had much feedback on Amazon?

People have enjoyed the book, yes. But they've pointed out that there are still typos lingering, so I'm working to remove those. Will upload a revision once I'm done. So, overall it's all good.

Gareth Lewis · 1st February 2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Menion

I live in Spain, and say I want to try and publish it in England, should I do it from Spain or should I move back to England (I plan on doing this).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarfy

I think you need to have an UK and US address to work directly with Amazon KDP (might want to check that, though). For places like Lulu and Smashwords, you can get paid to something like Paypal, instead.

For Smashwords (and Amazon I believe), be aware that no-US writers have 30% of their earnings withheld by the IRS, less if your country has a tax treaty and you apply for an ITIN number from them. For the UK it's 0% withholding as long as you have the ITIN (which appears a complex process, and not worth what I've earned in sales so far), and I think it's the same for Spain.

bearmountainbooks · 1st February 2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarfy

I think you need to have an UK and US address to work directly with Amazon KDP (might want to check that, though). For places like Lulu and Smashwords, you can get paid to something like Paypal, instead.

I think you do need an address in UK or US because right now for tax reasons those are the only two places supported. You can go through smashwords, but it's much slower (they are barely getting their Amazon uploads going this year). But it would work if you had no other choices.

As for the original question of why not--I can't think of a single reason. I published mostly cozy mysteries and my first Urban Fantasy (Under Witch Moon) just came out in Nov. I'm not doing quite as well as some others on this thread, but I'm well-satisfied with the process, with where I'm at after a year plus, and I suspect I'm actually doing better in several ways than had I gone the traditional route!!

Gary Compton · 1st February 2011, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Compton

Hey, well done Scary.

Did you notice I can't spell. What an idiot!!

11th January 2011, 11:27 AM	#77 (permalink)
HareBrain Lagomorphing Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: West Sussex Posts: 4,483 Blog Entries: 8	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? But where do people get to hear about it? Through searching/browsing Amazon, or by hearing about it elsewhere? (If you know?) And how did you decide on the price? It seems very low to me. Is the market that price-driven? If it were twice as much, how do you think that would affect sales? (Sorry for all the questions!)

11th January 2011, 12:24 PM	#78 (permalink)
Scarfy Stephen J Sweeney Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greater London Posts: 266	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? Ian - Thank you, very much! It's been a bit of a shock, if I'm honest. I almost had a heart attack on 1st January, when I checked my sales numbers for December. Oh - You're still on my TBR list. Going to pick up NOISE WITHIN after I finish Kraken. Harebrain - Where are people hearing about it? That's a good question. I don't really know. I think it might be a combination of a lot of things - the book is listed under Creative Commons, so that might be helping, as would the availability of it (for free) on the iBookstore. I also have a dedicated website, so people can find out about the series and the book by Googling me or the title... However, I'm not sure that's just it. There's probably something else that's making it popular, but I don't actually know what that is. As to the price, I don't think the market is that price driven - there are lots of titles in the top Scifi books that are £6.99, etc., and they still sell in buckets. I guess the real test to all of this will be when I put out the second book in the series and ask readers to part with £1.99 for it. That'll be the most telling sign, letting me know whether people were just buying the first one because it was cheap, or because they enjoyed reading it...

12th January 2011, 08:23 AM	#79 (permalink)
Scarfy Stephen J Sweeney Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greater London Posts: 266	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? Oh, and if people are interested, I'll report back at the beginning of Feb as to what my sales numbers for January were.

12th January 2011, 09:56 AM	#80 (permalink)
HareBrain Lagomorphing Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: West Sussex Posts: 4,483 Blog Entries: 8	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? I'd be interested. And thanks for the previous details.

12th January 2011, 11:55 PM	#81 (permalink)
Virtuous Writer. Freedom Fighter. Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 15	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? Hi Scarfy, Thanks for your guidance on getting my book onto Amazon Kindle - it's been up for a month and is selling. Why did you list your e-book for free on all the other sites? Was that required by the site or did you make the conscious decision to go for exposure over profit?

13th January 2011, 10:48 AM	#82 (permalink)
Scarfy Stephen J Sweeney Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greater London Posts: 266	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? I figured I'd make the first book free, in order to raise the profile of the series. I did actually intend to make the book free on the Kindle, too, but Amazon don't allow you to do so. I've got a blog post about it, here: Stephen J Sweeney's Blog: Why HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS isn't free on Kindle Also, there is a small matter of me having re-written the first book. It started off as a simple writing exercise, after I'd finished the second book in the series. I just then sort of kept going, tweaking things here and there, and stripping out scenes that I was never entirely happy with. I had a topic about it, here: Rewriting KNIGHTS So... yeah, it's kind of just happened organically. I've got a few other bits and pieces that I'm going to do, in an attempt to raise the series' profile some more. Will do that around April / May time and see what happens...

1st February 2011, 08:31 AM	#83 (permalink)
Scarfy Stephen J Sweeney Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greater London Posts: 266	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? Hi all, January's all done, so I thought I'd just pop in and post my numbers for the Kindle sales of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS. In total, the novel sold over 1,100 copies last month, leaving the series now just shy of 1,700 copies overall. The vast majority of the sales came from Amazon UK - in the US, the sales aren't even in triple figures. Hopefully, that'll change at some point. I've posted a little screenshot below: Stephen J Sweeney's Photos \| Facebook So, overall a very good month for the book. I'm currently working to remove the remaining typos and tidy up the grammar, as well as proofing both the rewrite and the second book in the series. I'm also still chasing agents, but the rejections are coming in thick and fast right now. Not to worry, I already have people asking me when the second book is coming, so I've managed to gain myself a small fanbase

1st February 2011, 10:02 AM	#84 (permalink)
Menion ze Spaniard! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Spain Posts: 502	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? I live in Spain, and say I want to try and publish it in England, should I do it from Spain or should I move back to England (I plan on doing this).

1st February 2011, 10:14 AM	#85 (permalink)
Gary Compton Tails of the Unexpected Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Northumberland Posts: 1,693 Blog Entries: 88	Re: So you have written a book- why not self publish? Hey, well done Scary. They are impressive figures mate. I'm glad, as you've worked hard at it. Have you had much feedback on Amazon? Also, if you maintain 1200 a month over the year, thats pretty dam good. Ebooks, who would've thought it.

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