The Highs and Lows of Month #3 in the World of Self-Publishing

In some respects, this has been a disappointing month for sales.  I have the same sales volume I did in month #1, which is 1/2 of what it was in month #2.  I did, however, release my second novel (a contemporary romance titled Inner Moonlight) in the beginning of the month at a rate of $2.99.  So my monetary sales are actually the same this month as they were in month #2.

I also published Inner Moonlight in both Kindle and Smashwords.  After some days of disappointment, I took the time to explore Smashwords and learned that a) it would take up to two weeks before some of the vendors even listed my book and b) most vendors don't report their sales until the end of the month.  So now I am eagerly awaiting that report to get an idea of my very low publicity month will prove to be lucrative.

In the meantime, I am making some decent progress on the first book in the MaCall Prophecy Trilogy.  I am expecting that within the next week, as summer commences, I will be even more productive.  I am going to work my tail off in an effort to finish this first book by the end of June.  My goal is to have the entire series done by September 1st.  This means that the promoting takes a back burner.  

I will say, however, if you have had an opportunity to read either Bonds of Matrimony or Inner Moonlight, please take the time to write an honest review to either Amazon or Smashwords.  You can also contact me via my website to email the review so that I can include some on my website, as well.

Thank you all for your support!

May 8, 2013 - Ode to Self-Publishing (okay...it's not actually an ode)

I just read this fantastic blog written by David Gaughran about the dangers of the supremely powerful vanity presses.  For years, I have been writing and writing and submitting query after query to agents and publishing houses.  And while I take the rejections and constructive criticism in stride and have hopefully improved my writing along the way, I become a bit irate when tragic celebrities are then represented by the very same people who rejected me.  Naturally, there's more money for the publishers when the "author" is a brand name.  I get that.  It's a business.

But it's not just a business for me.  I'm not making millions at all.  Hell, I'm barely making enough to purchase the occasional caramel latte that I crave a few times each month.  But the point is that after years of trying to get my writing out there, I now have nearly 3,000 people reading my work...after only 2 months.  Many of these 3,000 people downloaded my book during a free promotion.  This doesn't help my caramel latte cause.  But the point is that they are reading my work.

I can't lie, I would love to be able to see my books on a shelf in Barnes and Noble.  This has been my dream since I was thirteen.  But I cannot possibly express how thrilled I am to have the opportunities that self-publishing has afforded me.

Along the same lines as Gaughran's article, I am also disconcerted by the fact that two "publishers" have contacted me to offer to consider representation.  I'm not biting.  And here's why:

1.  With self-publishing, I write what I want, how I want, and when I want.
2.  When I want to modify something in a published piece, I can revise and re-publish.
3.  I can hire a cover designer and get exactly what I want.  (Laura Gordon did my most recent cover and was extremely talented, very prompt, and more affordable than most designers I have seen and contacted.  When I struggled to express exactly what I wanted, I fumbled through and Laura shot back a design that somehow met my vision precisely.  She is AMAZING!)
4.  I can price my books as I see fit, more or less, and monitor my sales as they occur.  I can track when sales are up or down and try to anticipate trends.
5.  I can market my books as much or as little as I want.

I wrote Bonds of Matrimony and Inner Moonlight myself, I got them edited, paid for cover design, and created all of the social networking accounts to being publishing.  I ran my own promotions and marketed the events.  I come home from my day job, enjoy some family time, and spend my evenings writing or marketing.  And after I get off the ground, a "publisher" will step in and take over, use all of my work and take a cut of my profits.  I don't really understand what they have to offer me that I can't handle myself.  What service am I paying them for when I am doing all of the work?

And with everything that I'm reading about even the Big 6, I honestly don't know that I would consider working with them, either.  Who knows?  I'm still new to this entire scene.  Perhaps when I'm making my millions, I won't want to be bothered with the nuisance of marketing.  :)

May 6, 2013 - FREE Promotion Results

My second free promotion ran for three days, a Thursday - Saturday.  For my last promotion, I had 1,572 downloads in only two days.  This time around, I had only 1,173 downloads in three days.  It's possible that I had fewer downloads because my audience is dwindling.  But given that I write romance, it seems that the audience for free downloads would be considerably larger than 2,600 readers.  I have noticed, however, that my Kindle sales plummeted in the middle of April.  When I browsed the KDP community, it seemed that I was not alone.  So it seems probable that as sales were lower, free downloads might also have been lower.

Regardless, I have 2,600+ people in the world reading my work.  That is the fact that I need to remember.  Two months ago, I was only dreaming about others reading my work.  Now it's happening.  What had previously seemed a lofty dream is now a very attainable dream...thanks to the world of self-publishing.

So I'm now beginning work on my paranormal romantic suspense trilogy.

May 2 - FREE Kindle Promotion (Round 2)

From May 2 through May 4, you can pick up your FREE copy of BONDS OF MATRIMONY at http://goo.gl/cwsbx!

I also invite any readers to submit honest reviews of the book either here in the comment section or on Amazon.

And if you enjoy Bonds of Matrimony, check out Inner Moonlight, a contemporary romance now available at Amazon or Smashwords.

April 29, 2013 - Inner Moonlight is now available!

After five hours of formatting (according to Smashwords Style Guide), I officially published Inner Moonlight last night!  It is available this morning through Amazon and will also be available on Smashwords, soon.

I have to toot my own horn here for a minute.  I enjoyed writing Bonds of Matrimony; but I really loved writing Inner Moonlight.  The idea occurred to me while I was beginning another project.  I found myself driving in my car, haunted by possible scenes and conflicts.  Finally, I got tired of simply taking notes and dumped the other project to begin this book.  It came together rather quickly, and I'm very proud of the end result.

To do full justice to the story, I hired Laura Gordon (http://bookcovermachine.wordpress.com) to create my cover.  She specializes in design for the fantasy genre, but I love what she's created for me on this contemporary piece.  I could not be happier.

That's not true.  I will be even happier if readers enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So take a look and feel free to contact me through my website with any feedback.

Thanks!

______________

INNER MOONLIGHT

After playing the role of the perfect wife for 16 years, Elena Mazur is devastated by the death of her husband.  She struggles with the relief she finds in her new freedom and the guilt she feels over his accident.  She finds comfort in the arms of J.P., her husband's estranged cousin.  While she cannot deny the attraction she has felt toward this man since they shared a passionate kiss as teenagers, she knows that her husband, his law partners, and his family would never forgive her for acting on that attraction.  Can Elena finally accept that she's worthy of true love and passion, or will she continue to strive to meet the rigid standards she sets for herself in an effort to please her dead husband?

April 25, 2013 - SECOND NOVEL IN FINAL EDIT STAGES!

That's right!  My second novel, INNER MOONLIGHT, is in the final stages of editing.  I had originally planned for a May 1st release, but I might even get it out as early as April 29.  Watch for it on Kindle.  I am also breaking into the Smashwords market to see how sales compare.

In other changes, I've hired a delightfully talented artist to design my book cover.  It has been a joy working with her.

I also have discovered the Author Marketing Club and plan to make full use of my new membership.  They send promotional emails to members with some excellent recommendations.  They also have fantastic marketing tips and links for indie authors.  www.authormarketingclub.com

I really am proud of INNER MOONLIGHT and hope that readers enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.  The story line haunted me for weeks until I finally moved another project to the back burner and got started right away.

For more details, check out my website at www.carriganfox.com

April 12, 2013 - One Week After Free Promo

It has been exactly a week since my free promotion ended with Kindle Select, and the results have been good.  I began the week ranked at #234,752 on Amazon.  And by the end of the week, I had ranked as high as #28,322.  I also received a favorable review from someone I do not know.  And I am on track to triple my sales for April.  

It really is motivating to track those numbers and imagine where I'll be in a year.  The plan is to get another four books completed within the next six months.  The first will be INNER MOONLIGHT, and I am pushing myself to complete the manuscript and publish next month.  I'm getting close.

Following that will be a paranormal trilogy that involves three women with the sight who must fight to save the people they love and the future of their country.  And when a prophesy is shared with an extremist militant group hell bent on destroying the nation, they realize that destroying the MaCall women must be the first step.

INNER MOONLIGHT

Elena Mazur is the perfect wife.  Having met and fallen in love with her husband when they were only fourteen, she has dedicated nearly sixteen years to trying to be the woman that she felt he deserved.  Now approaching thirty, she gradually begins to realize that she has cultivated a fairly miserable life for herself.  But before she can untangle all of the knots, a devastating accident takes the life of her husband.  She flees to a run-down lakeside cottage and struggles with the relief she finds in her newfound freedom and the guilt she feels over the loss of a wonderful man.  And her mixed feelings become even more complicated when she realizes that her husband’s cousin and childhood friend lives across the lake.  While she cannot deny the attraction she has felt toward this man since they shared a passionate kiss as teenagers, she knows that Alec would never forgive her for acting on that attraction.  So does she continue attempting to live up to the expectation as the perfect wife? Or does she follow her heart?

FIRSTBORN (Book 1:  The MaCall Prophesies)

Jac MaCall is forced to leave her world of aromatherapy and healing crystals to work for her father's security company.  What seems to be a random robbery turns into a battle to save not only the high strung Will Archer, but to also protect his future firstborn, a child destined to save the nation.  And when Jac gets a vision of her own future with the irresistibly uptight Dr. Archer, it becomes evident to everyone involved that she will play a bigger role in the destiny of the firstborn.

SECOND SIGHT  (Book 2:  The MaCall Prophesies)

Taryn MaCall is honored to call herself godmother and aunt to the prophetic golden child.  And when an old friend turns against the MaCalls, Taryn finds herself the target of the very extremist group that had tried to kill her sister and brother-in-law three years before.  Having always relied on herself, she now struggles with learning to trust Gray Campbell, as well.  She must remind herself that keeping the Archer child safe must be her first priority, and keeping her heart safe must run a close second.

TRIPLE THREAT  (Book 3:  The MaCall Prophesies)

In a world where the most powerful nation now crumbles, Teddie Archer's values seems idealistic and impractical.  But there are those who believe in Teddie's vision and see her as a threat that needs to be eliminated.  

In the meantime, don't forget to check out BONDS OF MATRIMONY, available now on Kindle!  And please feel free to email me at foxcarrigan at gmail dot com to offer suggestions and give feedback.  Or submit your reviews directly to Amazon.