October Sales Update #2

TOTAL BOOKS SOLD: 122,611

 

Totals are as of 10/26/11 @ 8PM and do not include 25,000 FREE downloads
(Amazon and B&N combined Sales)

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011 $2.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 298

April: 894

May: 1,600

June: 1,475

July: 1,291

August: 2,352

September: 1,955

October: 1,332*

Total:   11,197

A Knight in Central Park- Released March 18, 2011 $.99

Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 247

April: 6,071

May: 4,306

June: 2,414

July: 1,330

August: 9,812

September: 2,088

October:  1,188*

Total:   27,456

Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Comedy

April: 30

May: 182

June: 265

July: 310

August: 934

September: 1,872
October: 1,742*

Total:   5,335

Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense

May: 187

June: 261

July: 325

August: 1,159

September: 3,363
October: 1,889*

Total:   7,184

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25

June: 694

July: 1,708

August: 12,917

September: 39,413
October: 16,682*

Total:  71,439

*sales as of 10/26/11 @ 8 PM (B&N and Amazon combined)

Nothing new over here, except to say that seven months later, I can still say that becoming an indie author has been an amazing experience. Recently I was interviewed at Indie Reader. Fun!

As far as promotion and marketing, I love free sites like Digital Books Today. Anthony Wessel is friendly and helpful. "The staff at Digital Book Today is currently a group of 4 who all have either worked in the book industry and/or have been avid bookreaders all of our lives." How cool is that?

And don't forget The Romance Reviews, Eye on Romance, Pixel of Ink and The Frugal Ereader. I will try to list more advertising sites on my next update.  

If you decide to self-publish and don't know where to start when it comes to marketing and promotion, or even formatting, don't worry. There are so many helpful authors willing to share what they have learned. My advice to you is to join Indie Romance Ink run by Cate Rowan and Carly Carson. There are over 400 members. Many IRI members are traditionally published and have already self-published a book or two. Some members are undecided. All are welcome to join and learn.

Twice a month, I plan to share my number of books sold in hopes that these numbers might help other writers make their own decisions about self-publishing.

 

I hope these numbers help to answer questions. What sort of spikes and/or drops will the holidays bring? How will the release of the $79 kindle affect sales? What genre will sell best in December? Will a new release take away from current sales or bring me new readers? Will sales go up and down based on the number of new kindle users peaking and then dropping? Does one genre consistently sell better than another or will my time travel romances out sell romantic comedy over the holidays?

Every writer has their own personal and unique journey. My hope is that I can inspire others out there who are working hard at their craft to NEVER GIVE UP.

Let me know if you have ANY questions at all.