This whole publishing thing is about sampling, testing and evolving. I had a plan, now I have to adjust it.
While I wait for the verdict on my submission of Scratch to the Amazon Singles section (a coveted spot thus far), I’ve started posting my short stories that were on Smashwords and ported them over to Amazon as short stories at about .99 cents. My long form novels will be,moving forward, at least $1.99 and higher. Bottom line. No further need to hash that. If I’m selling a short story, it can’t be more than $1.99 out of good conscience unless I become a super star and then, naturally, I’ll charge $1000 for a short story. LMAO! Not!
So, out from the depths of past stories told comes Toasted! A short mystery story I originally wrote years back and even read an audio book for. The link escapes me right now.
Anyway, it’s based on two young teen detectives. One super smart and the other a linguist genius. Originally created in 2000 as an audio gift for blind children, these characters and I have have been through changes for going on twelve years now. well, now that they are about to be published, this version will stand pat.
I’m currently developing the cover and the story is finished as well as final edits. This is going straight to Amazon with a .99 cent price on it and up they go.
The category is a little strange though:
Urban (taking place in Jamaica, Queens), Young Adult (the core characters are 17) Mystery (because these are Mystery who done it adventures) Short Story (less than a book) Series (continuing episodes).
These girls are NOT Candy and Julissa from 40 to Go, just to be clear. They won’t even hold a weapon for the length of the series. But they are an excellent team of characters as well as the continuous side characters that will show up in most all of the stories. I need to expend some of this extra story telling energy i have going on and I came up with about five mysteries to tell so far.
When I think of YA (Young Adult) fiction, I no longer think of all the ads that struggled to get Americans to read. Apparently, thanks to Harry Potter by and large, everyone is reading.
To be honest, thanks to the INTERNET, more people are typing and than ever before. I’ve always been a fast typer. Back int he day, getting an office gig demanded that you type at least 40 words a minute. I can eat that with my eyes closed and some people can txt with their thumbs faster than that!
Young Adult novels have flooded the market especially when most of them are golden tickets to big movie deals. Once again, thanks to Harry Potter and Twilight. While I know a lot of people out there are faking the funk and just coming out with a story out of their ass to tap into the lucrative market (myself included), I can’t really say all of the YA out there is the best stuff written EVEN WITH a movie deal.
Many of the YA today is ‘fantasy’ based stuff with a romantic edge. So pair ’90210 (season one only!)’ with ‘Lord of the rings’ … no wait. Not THAT classy. More like ‘The OC’ with ‘The Craft’ (movie) and you have your basic YA crap out there. Where vampires crystalize and everyone is in love.
But it sells, you say. And I say it to. I’m just commenting on the state of things. Any industry that makes a billion a day on telling ultra-soft fantasy porn is doing the right thing. And having kinds (ages 13 to 18) reading is also a win-win.
But it’s saturated and if i plan to enter this market, the cover and story (in that order) has to ‘bleed’ YA … but maintain a traditionally trained storytellers touch.
That’s where ‘CommonSense‘ will gets its first run in this market so I’m working on this cover idea that will KILL! Lol … a little of my own originality of course and sprinklings of what’s selling out there. So today I’m looking at covers and trying to find the stomach to create one with some girl carrying a sword, or a forlorn looking dude yearning to get the girl or something currently typical like that.
I got a couple of ideas.
Oh, but SURPRISE bitches …. cover girl will be BLACK (Mildred Common).
I’ve never really said what my goals were for 2012 except to simply write my ass off. But if you know anything about me, I usually have a more thought out plot to thicken.
Also, I just realized yesterday was my one month anniversary as a consistent published author. Butta‘ was placed on Amazon and an eBook after years of bemoaning when and how it would happen. One month later, how did I do?
Butta‘ is .99 cents. Why so cheap? Because my goal was to introduce myself as a new author no matter when I started. Forget the past and just get started. .99 wasn’t free, but it had a price that must be paid and you take a chance with a new author and if the past said anything about the story of butta‘, anyone Buttaeads it loves it and we can go from there.
In that regard, things haven’t changed. Butta’ now sells at 5-10 books a day. I don’t get much at all except new readers and potentially new fans and that’s all I ever wanted. The idea of getting rich on what I’m doing without a flat endorsement from a publishing company is not in my plans. I know guys with 45+ books out there and they are making a decent living. That’s pretty much where I’m looking to get to. What confuses me is … guys with so many books out there like that making about $1000-$2000 a month … where’s their book deal? That end of the business confuses me. Buttam not there yet so lets not worry about it. I don’t make any real money on the sale of Butta’ but it keeps that title in and around ranking of 14,000 and 23,000 every day. Weekends are at its worse. I think people buy hard on Mondays and taper off by Friday. Even downloading the free stuff also. Weekends aren’t thButtat for sales it seems … or online for that matter. People DO go outside after all.
Butta’ went FREE for one day only back in January and blew out 717Buttaes in a day. Put me at #13 in the thriller category.
I never went back to free with Butta’ and just let her do her thing. It worked. As of now, she is purchased at .99 every day. Hasn’t missed a day since a little past January 18th. That’s a great feeling. Never mindButtamoney … that doesn’t matter. It’s a low level viral thing with my best foot forward. Butta’ speaks for me and how I will write for the rest of my life. I hope that draws others to my other work.
In regards to other work, I concluded a new book once a month was reasonable. Mostly things i already half written that i could clean up and put out to EBook. That includes unfinished film projects. So the next book went on a daring adventure to put audio and video in to the EBook. Scratch, a short horror story incorporated audio and video into the Kindle but discovered regardless of the Kindle Publishing Guides approval to use it, it only works for Kindle for iOS and, unbeknownst to them, Kindle for Android. So there were times it just didn’t work. Especially on the hot new device, the Kindle Fire.
It went up for free the first day and went free for a day … about 90 downloads. Then because I needed greater feedback, I posted it for free for three days and it was downloaded 500+ times. Half way through I posted a new version that did not utilize the embedded practices for Kindle and just kept the links that went to a YouTuButtage for extended audio.
During this first month, I’ve achieved four reviews (two for Butta’/two for Scratch) and both were 5 or 4 stars with praise for storytelling: the point of my existence.
Buttanks-ebook/dp/B0077YUVAQ/”title=”Scratch” >Scratch, no longer free, doesn’t move as Butta’ does in sales but I think it’s the a cross between the price, the shortness of it, the category and the fears that the story may have something to do with harming children, which it doesn’t. Far from it. so the reviews helped a little get that its a good suspense story and since those reviews, sales picked up an ounce more as opposed to a stand still.
The reviews help but I think thrillers might be doing better than horror right now. We’ll see around Halloween.
The free giveawayButtathe beginning help, but only carry certain books so far afterward. I can’t explain why Butta’Buttaoing so well. So well, in my terms, as opposed to first coming out and having nothing. Butta’ could be at a stand still like Scratch. I have no marketing. I don’t understand it except to assume word of mouth, a nice cover and a nice price.
The plan I knew worked for other things also seems to work here as well. I know with YouTube videos that you can post one video of anything you do … and it can just sit there. You post a second video, then the first one gets more play. Post a third and then the first two get more views and so on. Backed by online mentioning and continuously churning the butter, sort of speak, things pick up.
I applied that principal to Amazon, knowingly and purposely making sure I had a second book out right after the first and sales did improve to where its at now by the time ButtaQ/”title=”Scratch” >Scratch came out. Now they bounce off each other slightly with Butta’ getting more sales. Butta_self”Buttaexternal”title=”Scratch” >Scratch is priced differently and higher than Butta’.
Butta’ will be my only .99 novel.
Thirty-Day Summary:
I kicked ass considering I came from obscurity 2008 to 2011. Amazon has a royalty payout every 60 days so I’m happy to say within my first thirty days I’ll get money deposited and then some if things keep going this way.
Personal suggestions: Less innovation and get to the story. I say this with 40 to Go coming out tomorrow with audio and video attached for Barnes and Noble but its a proven technique for the ePub format so I’m not doing anything new there. I spent too long trying to get the Kindle to work and while I had a few successes, i could have polished off a book and a half. Spend the rest of this first year just putting out content … for content I am burst at the seams with.
2012 Outlook and Goals
Realistic Goal: One book a month with an extra one somewhere in between. I have the material. A lot of half written novels. Just got to focus on putting them together and putting them out. The vault has everything and writers-block is not an issue with a storage of ready-to-go storylines I had stocked up. stick with what works (Thrillers) and sample a few other genres that are selling right now (Young Adult, Vampire and Romantic drama/comedies). I’m happy thButtacan switch-genres readily. My calculations say that’s enough , at a steady pace like Butta’ at prices of $2.99 average price, to bring about $200-$450 a month.
Over-The-Top but Probable Goal: By years end, deposit a check for $1000+ exclusively on my writing. I can do it one of two ways: dish out 20-40 books but that would mean I’m writing at least two books a month and I don’t have the peace and quiet necessary … nor the respect for what I do in my house. It’s sad but true. Unless I’m bringing in a PHAT check, my writing is looked at as my hobby and essentially I am not working. Needless to say, my HATE for all concerned is a constant source of my heartburn, stress and occasional depression … but I will say my “Kiss my ass” line here right now because later, when its all said and done, I’ll be too busy writing to say it then.
What’s on my side: My switch-hitting ability to write any genre. I have no problem seeing what’s making money and, like a mercenary, bring a story line to it. Chances are I have one pre-written. CommonSense is a GREAT example of that. While it started off as Fan Fiction, it’s horror but the core characters are perfect Young Adult. The stories are already being downloaded on the net. People like the characters and the stories, so I don’t have too far to go to enter the YA market (now that it’s flooded). Thank you, Twilight.
What’s against me: Lack of money, children responsibilities, loneliness. Being online is cool for meeting like minds but online is cold and void. The connectivity of another writer who understands this process would be welcoming AT HOME.
I said it before, it’s so bad, I can write whatever the fuck I want about anybody and it won’t be noticed because they don’t read my stuff.
I am speaking of specifics people. Maybe if I had40 To Good and a fucking basketball in a story …
Disregard (cause I try each and every day) … 40 To Go tomorrow! The first novel that sets off the series in April and my chance to see if this process of a Motion EBook works. Trying out Barnes and Nobles Pubit services for all that.
Okay…1/30/2011 was an exciting day. It marked, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can move a book in my category at least for free. Something I already established on Smashwords, but it’s a different ballpark on Amazon. So, a few ground rules of clarity that must be used in order to be on the same page:
1) I utilized Amaon’s Kindle Direct Publishing promotional for one single day to release Butta‘ for free.
2) Not all books promoted for free are received by the public. Or another way to put it, there are MANY things you just can’t GIVE away for free no matter how hard you try.
From 9am Monday morning, Butta‘ started with a ranking of 1200 out of 750,000 books in the Kindle store. I was happy with that alone and then it just got better all day.
Ranking 900, then 800, then 500, fluxed to 650 and then went hard to ranking at 400. 400 out of 750,000.
Okay, so you say “Well, it was free.” I say, “Yes, it was free out of 750,000 other books and the high majority of them also had the same free promotion.” Both indie and big players gave their books away for free and there I Butta‘ chill-laxing between the high rollers.
To paint a better picture of ‘why’ this is important:
Amanda Hocking, the Young Adult writer who achieved the million dollar deal last year was in my same category at #4 for the same free promotion. James Paterson was #6 for paid ebooks. Come on now … JAMES PATERSON! The point is, for much of the day, my book stood ground next to the literary elite and that speaks VOLUMES. Especially when you consider it’s a re-issue from 2007.
So, the party is over and Butta‘ is back at it’s regular ranking at #275,361 of paid. Still fairly high from 750,000 … but she has a ways to go. This is where we talk about CONVERSION.
Conversion- meaning the act or an instance of converting or the process of being converted. Changing ones point of view to another.
It’s literally like letting your child off to school and hoping for the best. Butta‘ is in the hands of enough people within a 24 hour hour period and all I’m doing right now is waiting for them to read it. If they read just a taste of Butta‘ (pun intended), I can have them hooked to want other things NOT free.
Ahhh, but here’s where the PLOT thickens. I have nothing else out there to pay for. The majority of my stuff are free short stories and the only book(s) of novel length on the horizon are in April and May (40 To Go and Butta‘ Worldwide). I cannot lose the momentum of readership to convert them into buying anything else so what to do?
I’ll tell you what I’m going to do … put something out sooner than later.
I’m working on this short story that will have a 1.99 price tag on it called Scratch. A short horror/scary story that fits the Young Adult category though the protagonist is VERY young (like age four). The upside is it’s integrated with video and audio setting this ebook scales ahead of others. Yeah, it’s a gimmick, but a well played out gimmick that should turn heads. It’s designed to scare the reader and what other entertainment can you get at two bucks that you can read and watch at the same time?
Scratch will be given away free for twelve hours only when I’m done so I can incorporate that kind of buzz into the book, then let it work itself there after. It’s an ambitious project but since I already have the audio recorded and the story is done, as part of my ‘put it all out there’ plan for 2012 … stuff I never finished … the eBook/audio/visual concept is an easy production. Relatively.
What I really should do is start pushing the CommonSense novel forward since it’s a popular download. The problem is the story arch needs one more Fan Fiction before I can start and, I don’t know, I want to make sure people are liking the characters. As always … no reviews good or bad and that’s likely to be the thorn in my side for the rest of my life. With Butta‘ I have to wait for people to read the book before I can get some reviews in. But the free short stories … I don’t get it. Their SHORT… leave some feedback! I just have download numbers to go on.
Finally came up with a name for the motion graphics part of DesktopEpics that fits perfectly: Emotionry – Motion Storytellers (“Did you feel that?”)
Oh, and Butta‘ Worldwide’s cover has been changed for the final time, removing all the characters and staying consistent with the new first book. The promotional shoot a few years back will not go to waste. Using all the characters for various promotional banners and posters and things. But if I ever need a model for a cover I’m creating it myself. The days of hiring live people and photography for me are OVER.
NOT! Had an idea the other day that Emotionry would need photographs for so NIX that previous angst. LOL
The majority of my stuff are free short stories and the only book(s) of novel length on the horizon are in April and May (