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Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
My newest super-genre short has sold 310 copies in the last two days. It's currently outperforming my first novel from back in 2013. :suicide:

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Roar
Jul 7, 2007

I got 30 points!

I GOT 30 POINTS!
And that's a bad thing?

I've been in such a rut the last year that I would kill for a runaway hit like that.

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
Oh, not a bad thing at all. It's just a bit of a mindfuck when I watch something I gave no shits about whatsoever when I wrote it outperform something I put a ton of time and care into. Money is money, though. :)

painted bird
Oct 18, 2013

by Lowtax

moana posted:

You have to see what works and what doesn't for your genre. Ask other writers who are succeeding in your genre. Don't be surprised when they don't pour out information immediately; it probably took them years to learn the right way to do things and there are a lot of entitled artistes who want to snap their fingers and get the right answer immediately.

I've got two questions, basically.

1. "What works and what doesn't": is this a way of saying that you have to write things a certain way or they simply won't sell? That you have to hit certain tropes and archetypes for people to buy the book?

2. Where do I find authors to ask questions, other than this place? :v:

ArchangeI
Jul 15, 2010

chthonic bell posted:

1. "What works and what doesn't": is this a way of saying that you have to write things a certain way or they simply won't sell? That you have to hit certain tropes and archetypes for people to buy the book?

Would you read a fantasy novel that has neither elves nor dwarves nor dragons nor swords or magic? A novel labeled as "romance" but dealing with a man's love for his car? The fact of the matter is that people who buy genre fiction look for that genre, and these genres have certain expectations. Doesn't mean you have to play it 100% straight.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

chthonic bell posted:

1. "What works and what doesn't": is this a way of saying that you have to write things a certain way or they simply won't sell? That you have to hit certain tropes and archetypes for people to buy the book?
Partially, yes. Another part of it is looking at what works re: covers and blurbs. Think about what makes you buy a book: is it how the book is written? hell loving no. It's the cover, blurb, and reviews. Some covers work and some don't. Some blurbs work and some don't. Some books make readers want to leave a review - would your book do that? Make sure you have advance readers to give you good reviews in either case.

quote:

2. Where do I find authors to ask questions, other than this place? :v:
The amazon bestseller lists for your genre. Facebook groups for your genre. Goodreads groups for your genre.

brotherly
Aug 20, 2014

DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED

Sundae posted:

My newest super-genre short has sold 310 copies in the last two days. It's currently outperforming my first novel from back in 2013. :suicide:

Woah, that's awesome. Congrats.

I think my first novel hit the 30 day cliff :( Although, since I was only averaging like 10 borrows a day anyway, the drop isn't exactly that huge.

But I hit publish on novel #2 just now, so I'm pretty excited to set up promos and to corral some reviews in the next week.

Madurai
Jun 26, 2012

Tiny victories: I have the top result if you search the Kindle for "space heroine."

Day Two. Still no reviews. WHY CAN'T THEY READ FASTER? :f5:

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Madurai posted:

Tiny victories: I have the top result if you search the Kindle for "space heroine."

Day Two. Still no reviews. WHY CAN'T THEY READ FASTER? :f5:

day two of what? since publication? we've had this discussion before but I'm pretty sure you should expect several hundred paid sales per review

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
You should send out ARCs a couple weeks at least in advance for reviews so that you have a nice blitz on review day. And yeah, less than 1% will review. My latest has less than 100 reviews, and it sells a few hundred copies a day. Not many people write reviews, it turns out.

Madurai
Jun 26, 2012

EngineerSean posted:

day two of what? since publication? we've had this discussion before but I'm pretty sure you should expect several hundred paid sales per review

Oh, I know. I can still sweat and make up nightmare scenarios in my mind, though.

Faded Mars
Jul 1, 2004

It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga.
Be proactive about your reviews. Moana has a great point about ARCs, but as you're past that point, you'll need to do something else. As I've suggested before, go find your book on Goodreads and start sending polite requests (with the Amazon link to your book ready) to anyone who gave your book a nice review/rating there to also post it on Amazon.

Jalumibnkrayal
Apr 16, 2008

Ramrod XTreme
February KU borrow rate = $1.41. :D

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
I just posted this over in BFC, but I broke my first year teaching salary last month with my book sales. Feels good, man. Crossing my fingers they keep up the same rate for March, holy god that would be amazing.

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
Congratulations, Moana! :)

I matched my monthly day-job salary for February, and this month is looking even better thanks to the newest hit (if it doesn't fall off a cliff in the next week or so). Hell yes.

Now to write some more awesomeness. It feels good to have something go right again.

brotherly
Aug 20, 2014

DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED

moana posted:

I just posted this over in BFC, but I broke my first year teaching salary last month with my book sales. Feels good, man. Crossing my fingers they keep up the same rate for March, holy god that would be amazing.

congrats! that's amazing.

I just put up my second book and am ranked under 8k with no promo and going strong. feeling optimistic right now.

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot
serious congrats Moana, I don't know how I did yet but a buck forty one is p good news

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot
what I mean is, stop lying, no Millenials can get rich and certainly not writing porn

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005

quote:

what I mean is, stop lying, no Millenials can get rich and certainly not writing super-romance

Fixed that for you. :haw:

Seriously though, the last few months have been phenomenal. Not Moana or Sean phenomenal, but still like "take twenty years off the lifespan of that loan" awesome. I'm totally going full-time at this once my wife's loan is done, no question about it anymore. Given enough time and mental energy to write regularly / the way I used to before The Great Collapse of 2014 (okay maybe that's a little melodramatic), I'm 100% certain I can knock this poo poo out of the park. :)

flowbee abortion
Feb 13, 2004

Just saying this thread is great and highly motivating. I've finished the first draft of a novel and I'm halfway done with a power-romance book.

Thanks for all the info/help

flowbee abortion fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Mar 17, 2015

Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007
If anyone is in need of editing, I have some slots left for end of March and beginning of April (will be unavailable for the week after Easter, though). All lengths and all genres (including super-romance) welcome. Drop me a line at booksidemanner at gmail dot com, and I'll be happy to discuss levels of editing, rates, etc.

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
I can vouch for Hijinks being great to work with. She's edited several works for me now, and she is easy to work with, quick on turn-around, and does a great job with line-edits and word-choice criticism. She's downright spiffy, so hire her before I buy out all her remaining spots for the year. :v:

(I should have another one coming your way this week if you're available, by the way.)

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot
2015 is off to a great start, thanks KDP All Star bonuses (bonii)

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
You got another one? Congratulations! :)

I'm back on pace to my goal of doubling my writing income for 2015 compared to 2014. If this happens, that loan is as good as gone and I'll be ready for "retirement." Now I just have to get my family to accept that this is a reasonable business venture. :haw:

Hijinks Ensue
Jul 24, 2007

Sundae posted:

I can vouch for Hijinks being great to work with. She's edited several works for me now, and she is easy to work with, quick on turn-around, and does a great job with line-edits and word-choice criticism. She's downright spiffy, so hire her before I buy out all her remaining spots for the year. :v:

(I should have another one coming your way this week if you're available, by the way.)

Awww, thank you!

(Feel free to send the next one along whenever it's ready.)

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Sundae posted:

You got another one? Congratulations! :)

I got six lol

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
Wait, six so far for 2015?? Jesus Christ - I thought they were account-based.

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Sundae posted:

Wait, six so far for 2015?? Jesus Christ - I thought they were account-based.

In February. There's 100 for authors and 100 for individual books, and also a different set for US, UK, and Germany. So that's 600 total.

Sulla Faex
May 14, 2010

No man ever did me so much good, or enemy so much harm, but I repaid him with ENDLESS SHITPOSTING
Hats off to all of you, I'm not writing much but your success blows all of my attempts away. I'm at 8 super-romance that I've released over a 4-month period and I'm very envious of whatever it is you've been doing that has served you so well. Here's my 90-day history for comparison. I switched genres at the start of march and released 2 titles about a week apart which explains the bump there, but it's barely a fraction of what a few of you are making with half the titles and half the time. Be proud of your success and hold tight while I head back to the drawing board.

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot
It definitely looks like you're on an upward trend there, made like $20 or more yesterday, that's a start!

Sulla Faex
May 14, 2010

No man ever did me so much good, or enemy so much harm, but I repaid him with ENDLESS SHITPOSTING
Yeah it just boggles my mind whenever I read about the amounts even relative newcomers are earning here or on the subreddit. I've been dealing with a bout of serious depression since January so my productivity and output has plummeted, but I think I need to find time to do some serious research. I don't consume enough of what I'm supposed to be writing and it definitely shows. For example the switch of genre last week was based on reading some stuff I wouldn't normally read and thinking "Hey, I'm sure I could do that better". I think I'll keep on that tangent a while and try to merge it with different genres and see how it goes. The old penname wasn't doing poo poo so I think I'll have to cut my losses - even though I prefer writing that stuff it's just far too pedestrian.

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Sulla-Marius 88 posted:

Yeah it just boggles my mind whenever I read about the amounts even relative newcomers are earning here or on the subreddit.

So do what they do. Here is the list of Top 100 supergenre authors, find someone who you like and copy them.

http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Erotica/digital-text/157057011/ref=ntt_at_kar_B008GFU7UO

POOL IS CLOSED
Jul 14, 2011

I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.
Pillbug
So how gloomy is the forecast for fantasy writers? All this super-romance is making me sad that I don't get much enjoyment from trying to write that super-genre. I'm almost done with my first revisions of this manuscript and I've got a couple other projects hanging around that I need to bang the rest of the way out. Soon it'll be time to revisit my blurb and sweat over cover art...

Toaster Beef
Jan 23, 2007

that's not nature's way
Super-romance is treating me pretty well, all things considered. With a dozen stories published since late February, here's my chart.

It's kind of subtle when things start ticking upward. That five-borrow February 25 blew me away when it happened, but now I look at March 13 and 16 (five-borrow and four-borrow days, respectively) like "OH JESUS WHAT DID I DO WRONG." I'm sure these numbers would terrify anybody making an actual living off of this stuff, but for me — considering it's just extra money and not something I plan on replacing my normal job with — it's great so far.

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005

RedTonic posted:

So how gloomy is the forecast for fantasy writers? All this super-romance is making me sad that I don't get much enjoyment from trying to write that super-genre. I'm almost done with my first revisions of this manuscript and I've got a couple other projects hanging around that I need to bang the rest of the way out. Soon it'll be time to revisit my blurb and sweat over cover art...

I honestly don't know the fantasy forecast. Have you looked at the Top 100 and the Hot New Releases charts to see if there are any self-pubs in it? How are they ranked compared to other genres in the overall store?

POOL IS CLOSED
Jul 14, 2011

I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.
Pillbug

Sundae posted:

I honestly don't know the fantasy forecast. Have you looked at the Top 100 and the Hot New Releases charts to see if there are any self-pubs in it? How are they ranked compared to other genres in the overall store?

Top 100 in fantasy/sci-fi is jpacked with paranormal shaper-shifter super-romance. :negative: It's not totally hopeless, though.

e: I should clarify--not totally hopeless for someone not including super-romance in their work.

Sundae
Dec 1, 2005
Ahh, I should've expected that. Whoopsie. :smith:

psychopomp
Jan 28, 2011
I can't speak for fantasy precisely; I write steampunk thrillers and mysteries.

I do okay. It's really picked up since the last release in January. Nowhere near top shelf income, but I make enough to write full time, and that's really all I want.

EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Toaster Beef posted:

Super-romance is treating me pretty well, all things considered. With a dozen stories published since late February, here's my chart.

It's kind of subtle when things start ticking upward. That five-borrow February 25 blew me away when it happened, but now I look at March 13 and 16 (five-borrow and four-borrow days, respectively) like "OH JESUS WHAT DID I DO WRONG." I'm sure these numbers would terrify anybody making an actual living off of this stuff, but for me — considering it's just extra money and not something I plan on replacing my normal job with — it's great so far.

Nobody who wants to stay sane in this business should look at a one day slump in sales and start invoking the name of our Lord and Savior.

In fact, challenge yourself to only look at your sales on days that you publish a book. It is both rewarding and time saving. I also sperg out on the day the Amazon monthly sales report drops but I don't consider that a problem.

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Toaster Beef
Jan 23, 2007

that's not nature's way

EngineerSean posted:

Nobody who wants to stay sane in this business should look at a one day slump in sales and start invoking the name of our Lord and Savior.

In fact, challenge yourself to only look at your sales on days that you publish a book. It is both rewarding and time saving. I also sperg out on the day the Amazon monthly sales report drops but I don't consider that a problem.

I've been looking at it less and less over the first month, and I suspect by the end of the second month I will basically be doing what you're talking about. I think it's just that rookie disbelief of "wait, people are buying this" that needs to fade away.

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