Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Sales Update

Well, it looks like my little corner of the Kindle world has dramatically slowed. My numbers so far for February are as follows:
Across the Galaxy : 2
DreamKiller :          4

Now, did I want to report such crappy numbers? No. I'd rather not say it out loud, but I promised to be honest and tell it like it was, so I'm sucking it up and throwing it out there for you. I do expect numbers to rise as I get reviews/features posted by other sites but the main thing I'm focusing on right now is getting the next book out. I will hopefully have it ready by March 15th and plan to step my game wayyy up int he promoting area after that one. The story line is pretty cool/original and the writing is inevitably better than Across the Galaxy. Not that ATG is bad, but I'm a realist, and it was my very first novel. AND I know the more I write, the better I'll get. I can already see it when I look back at first drafts for ATG compared to Dirty Blood.

Speaking of Dirty Blood, I'm painting my dining room this week. And the color I've picked looks like blood. It's so much fun, and very inspiring. The 'back burner' project I have going is about fairies and the green that I'll be doing in my living room reminds me of fairies somehow. So maybe this painting/writing crossover will help the muse.

Also- I started reading Amanda Hocking's Switched last night. Only a few chapters in and not far enough to see where it's going yet but I like it so far and will probably post a review here about it. Honestly though the main reason for reading it is research. In leadership training, you learn that you become like the 5 people you hang around with most (I've done ALOT of leadership training) and that you have to align yourself with people who've already achieved the goals you have set for yourself. And it IS true. If you were around completely negative people 24/7 and all they did was complain about life and tell you how much your writing sucks, do you think you'd still be writing? And if you did manage to still write (probably keeping it a secret) you damn sure wouldnt have the confidence to publish it when you were done. Think about it.

So, to that end, I am reading her books - not to copy of course, but to learn her style and therefore my craft a little better. After all, she is definitely already where I want to be. And I fully plan on getting there which means I can only allow myself to learn from the best. (And if you're wondering if that means her talent surpasses all others, of course not. but if I want to make money I define the best as the 'bestseller' and in my target audience, that's her.) Plus, I love that I can consider reading a good book "research" or "homework". LOL. I love my job!


4 comments:

  1. Heather,

    Thanks for posting your numbers, even if they are not where you want them to be. I am sure once you get out there with the marketing, your sales will blossom. I also think that Dirty Blood has the potential to be pretty big, so I am glad to see that you will be doing the marketing for that one.

    Haha. I went back and started to reread Switched last night! I completely agree with you about researching the book our audience loves to help us give them what they want.

    Angeline Kace

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  2. Heather, take heart. Especially at the beginning, things definitely have lulls. There will be up and down days. Even when things start to pick up in earnest, there will come days when the wind dies out and your sails drop for hours and hours...the doldrums.

    Kudos to you for having the guts to write honestly about it. That will stand you in good stead for the long haul.

    Aaron

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  3. Yeah...I'm worried about numbers, whether anyone will really like my book or my writing, and my book is not even out yet. I think I should have vanilla ice cream for breakfast.

    Shelia
    www.peelingcheek.wordpress.com

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  4. Shelia,
    When in doubt - ALWAYS have the vanilla ice cream!

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