Here's my secret to selling eBooks. Change my name to Amanda Hocking, Selena Kitt, or Joe Konrath. That's me trying to be funny, but actually, I'm in awe of these folks. Not only are they immensely talented, but they've managed to break the eBook code. According to Joe's blog post Ebooks Slowing? Yes And No, he's made $26,000 in six weeks, Amanda Hocking sells 1200 eBooks a day, and Selena Kitt made $120,000 this year on Kindle books.
Maybe if I knew what the secrets to marketing them was I could do it. Right now, my eBook only books are with Crossroads Press. The books did really well in the beginning, but now I get a trickle of sales for all of them.
Maybe if I knew what the secrets to marketing them was I could do it. Right now, my eBook only books are with Crossroads Press. The books did really well in the beginning, but now I get a trickle of sales for all of them.
The the eBooks for my other books are controlled by publishers. Those include the SEAL Team 666 books (SEAL Team 666, Age of Blood, and Reign of Evil), my collection FUBAR, as well as the Task Force Ombra Books (Grunt Life, Grunt Traitor and Grunt Hero). Let's not forget about Halfway House and Ghost Heart. Those all do decent, but nothing like the numbers some of those I mentioned are getting. Hell, I'd love 10% of those numbers.
I'm thinking about trying something. I have two Special Unit 77 novellas (Cold War Gothic and The Bohemian Grove) that have appeared in two of Cohesion Press's SNAFU anthologies. The novellas are closely linked. Think special undercover civilian clothes wearing military unit placed in 1970s San Francicso to fight supernatural entities posed by the Red Menace. I'm thinking about doing a third. Maybe if I can get an artist to help me brand the covers, then I can try some of the tactics I've been seeing. I'm thinking a pen name might help like Joe Konrath or Amanda Hocking. Too funny. I just crack myself up. But seriously, I'd publish them under my own name and see if I couldn't get some solid numbers.
Something to think about.
Hi, Joe :) Heh, from what I've seen, both with others and with our 300 or so ReAnimus Press titles, is that -- beyond the required ingredients of a good book, good cover, good marketing tactics - it's just plain luck. We all see those who've Made It Big, and (sadly) there may just be nothing more under our control to do except hope lightning strikes. (Assuming the required elements are there already.) I've seen sudden massive sales surges with some ReAnimus books (which sometimes continue at a higher rate, and some that diminish just as fast as they started), for no apparent reason. Perhaps a reviewer we sent a copy to finally reviewed it in some high profile place (that we aren't aware of), or maybe someone we don't know said something in a big venue (that we aren't aware of)... They do say that half of marketing doesn't work -- but you don't know which half. :) Good idea, though, "Joe" -- I think I'll change our company name to Random House. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that last bit. :) Yeah. At times it's odd luck. But some of the folks seem to be able to curate luck pretty well.
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ReplyDeleteA friend of mine let me listen to the first two 666 books. Well, I haven't finished the second yet. I keep worrying about Alice. I don't know yet if it was the same in the written book as the audio, but my somewhat obsessive nature meant that I picked it up when the gentleman reading was saying that Hoover was a he. I got JJ and YaYa confused, probably because of wondering about Alice. I live in a small house, in Japan, and have learned my space limits on owning physical books, so I will be purchasing your ebooks, if I can. I just found out from your website that there is a third 666 book. I'm really looking forward to reading it! I'm not certain if I'll pick up the ebooks through amazon U.S. or amazon Japan. Which would be better for you? Or does it not matter?
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