tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post3265574849276087710..comments2024-03-18T06:16:18.802-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Ten Days of KENP with BookBub BoostJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12048635429793986242015-12-21T12:00:22.446-06:002015-12-21T12:00:22.446-06:00THANK YOU! for these hard numbers. As a newbie who...THANK YOU! for these hard numbers. As a newbie who's trying to get a BookBub, having stats and info to develop a plan forward is so very helpful. Now, to get enough reviews to qualify for BookBub. It's a tough cycle, isn't it? Or can you even see this struggle in your rear view as you leave the rest of us in the dust? ;)<br /><br />Thanks again, and congrats!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06304141261913158499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-35806781162766094862015-10-06T11:57:29.687-05:002015-10-06T11:57:29.687-05:00This is awesome, and thanks for sharing. I wish Am...This is awesome, and thanks for sharing. I wish Amazon provided better statistics though. I would like to know how many people are producing my KENP numbers for Fast Draw. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904825570208990733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-72315392941058471632015-08-24T12:05:52.119-05:002015-08-24T12:05:52.119-05:00Thanks for the help!Thanks for the help!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14063729389869124171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-4419049076260659332015-08-24T10:44:49.112-05:002015-08-24T10:44:49.112-05:00"Prepare for a saturation in the thriller mar..."Prepare for a saturation in the thriller market soon though. It comes w the territory. People are leaving my genre like some mass exodus and thrillers/page turners are going to get the next big influx. Good news is I think most will cross pollinate to romance, so it will be more direct competition for Ann than it will for you and Blake."<br /><br /><br />You might be right, Selena. The thing is, the author needs the reader to finish the book, not just to read 10%. To that end, my new direct competition might find this post helpful.<br /><br />http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/07/pacing-by-ann-voss-peterson.html<br />Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-5498286214897888592015-08-24T10:42:18.558-05:002015-08-24T10:42:18.558-05:00Sean: I'd suggest bundling the first three boo...Sean: I'd suggest bundling the first three books of the series into a triple pack. Discount it a dollar or two from the individual book prices so in your case around 6.99. Under editorial reviews you should be able to leave excerpts from the positive reviews you received on the paperback version of the first book. I'd leave it there at the bundled price for a couple months while trying to get more reviews. After that period of time try offering it free for a Bookbub ad. With just a few decent reviews on it and your editorial reviews Bookbub might just take such a heavily discounted package.rjbucchianerihttp://www.robertbucchianeri.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-6551975008987309822015-08-24T10:21:55.132-05:002015-08-24T10:21:55.132-05:00Just an update about The Mad Reviewer. I just noti...Just an update about The Mad Reviewer. I just noticed she has a blog with a review policy that says: "Anyone who submits a review request to me while I am closed will be blacklisted from my blog in perpetuity". <br /><br />She's closed to review requests until further notice. <br /><br />https://carrieslager.wordpress.com/review-policy/<br /><br />By the way, it's very important to read and follow the review policy of each blog. That's the first thing I do when checking a reviewer's blog. Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50020119057451251872015-08-24T10:11:18.875-05:002015-08-24T10:11:18.875-05:00reviewers'linkreviewers'linkAlan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-13600843112516519462015-08-24T10:10:01.237-05:002015-08-24T10:10:01.237-05:00Sean, I would advise seeking readers who like eboo...Sean, I would advise seeking readers who like ebooks in the same genre as yours on Goodreads and asking them for a review. You can also run a giveaway with a paperback and then ask the people who participated but didn't get the book if they would like to read and review the ebook. <br /><br />You can also identifiy ebooks reviewed on Amazon in the same genre then yours and click on the reviewers one. <br /><br />There's someone named The Mad Reviewer, for example, that gives [Full disclosure] of the ways she got the ebooks in exchange for a review. <br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1XQ4VN1U8FMH7/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp<br /><br />Sometimes, the ebook reviewer lets her blog address, and you can contact her. As the email of the reviewers don't appear on Amazon, I don't know how to contact them by other means, though. Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-71310983085476595692015-08-24T10:09:52.381-05:002015-08-24T10:09:52.381-05:00I know the feeling. I've had the same issue. I...I know the feeling. I've had the same issue. I have many books in eBook and paperback version. They have been endorsed by many in the industry from Joe Konrath, to Hugh Howey to the legend William "Bill" Thompson, (who helped discover Stephen King), and writing great Joe R. Lansdale has agreed to read my Horror/Comedy novel Pizza Man. The problem is these thumbs up don't translate to Amazon reviews which kind of screw me. I am thankful that so many like my work. I realized a long time ago that you learn from the best but then personalize your goals, follow your own path, keep an eye open for the different signs along the way and go with your gut. (I know its not much.) BRYAN HIGBYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01126595775432851053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46094946502135392882015-08-24T09:46:10.853-05:002015-08-24T09:46:10.853-05:00I just got my trilogy out but can't get any re...I just got my trilogy out but can't get any reviews. Bookbub only allows for books withnreviews. Any thoughts? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14063729389869124171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-20528864067484876162015-08-24T09:05:15.931-05:002015-08-24T09:05:15.931-05:00Good advice. I have a trilogy of Jack Daniels/OzVa...Good advice. I have a trilogy of Jack Daniels/OzValt Grant novels I think would do well with a Bookbub boost. Thanks!BRYAN HIGBYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01126595775432851053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-73617235920473043012015-08-24T09:01:18.300-05:002015-08-24T09:01:18.300-05:00I also recently ran a Bookbub on my mystery thrill...I also recently ran a Bookbub on my mystery thriller triple pack. Had great downloads, excellent sales afterwards, and was happily surprised at the KENP at 300,000 and still rising. rjbucchiahttp://robertbucchianeri.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50633702056169416392015-08-24T08:58:37.382-05:002015-08-24T08:58:37.382-05:00Bryan, I doubt you could get a Bookbub ad for a Ki...Bryan, I doubt you could get a Bookbub ad for a Kindle Worlds Book. I have a novella in Kindle Worlds which is too short for Bookbub. Also, if you don't discount a book Bookbub won't take it and I don't think Amazon allows Worlds discounts.rjbucchianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46302053596114658632015-08-24T08:50:45.665-05:002015-08-24T08:50:45.665-05:00Joe do you know if Kindle Worlds allow us to Bookb...Joe do you know if Kindle Worlds allow us to Bookbub?BRYAN HIGBYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01126595775432851053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-6473494578851937642015-08-24T08:12:16.149-05:002015-08-24T08:12:16.149-05:00Congrats again on your success Joe. I've been ...Congrats again on your success Joe. I've been trying to get one of my DenMark Chronicles novels into BookBub for a while now and keep getting denied. I guess its because I don't have enough reviews, which sucks, but there are other avenues for now. Good insights as usual. Looking forward to any new novels you might be putting out. The idea of a book series is a sound one. I seem to catch readers with my OzValt Grant Collection as well as the DenMark Chronicles and the Logos Books. Here's hoping success across the board for everyone!BRYAN HIGBYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01126595775432851053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-80427784407406855282015-08-24T00:03:15.745-05:002015-08-24T00:03:15.745-05:00Seems like books that hook the reader and make the...Seems like books that hook the reader and make the reader want to get to the conclusion, in other words books with a strong story-line, will make more money with KU. <br /><br />My guess is literary fiction won't do as well with KU page reads as plot-driven stuff like detective novels and mysteries. <br /><br />My own personal experience as a reader is that I will often get tired of the writing in a plot-driven novel and start to skim to get to the end to see how it turns out. If I get tired of the writing in a more literary novel I will usually just quit reading. Mark Asherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13758940020912520294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12788456410292412472015-08-23T19:59:33.859-05:002015-08-23T19:59:33.859-05:00I wish I understood the lending thing better. I...I wish I understood the lending thing better. I've only been out with my MG series for two weeks and I've done no promotion but the books are being read....not as good as Konrath's but you've got yo start somewhere. I am just hoping to get some sales. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14063729389869124171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-69657390952426058732015-08-23T09:58:00.992-05:002015-08-23T09:58:00.992-05:00Like Joe, I got a big bump in page reads when I di...Like Joe, I got a big bump in page reads when I did a BB promo last month for the No. 1 book in on4 of my three series. The discount price for that book was 1.99. Next month, I'm going to do another BB for a No. 1 book in a second series and us a .99 price point, looking to see how that might affect the numbers. So far, KU2 has bumped my monthly revenue from the four-figure range back into the five-figure range. I think it helps that the characters in my different series all live in the same world so they can visit each others books. That way if a reader likes one series he or she will likely give the others a try.Joe Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-26582487088597389522015-08-23T00:49:10.793-05:002015-08-23T00:49:10.793-05:00I did a promo for my scifi series from July 29- Au...I did a promo for my scifi series from July 29- Aug 2 (first book free and countdown deals on the next two). I wasn't able to get a BookBub, but the freebie was listed with ENT and several of the other smaller sites. I'd had almost zero page reads before in July, so I was hoping to get a few from books 2 and 3 as people read the freebie and moved on to the rest of the series.<br /><br />Yet, surprisingly, I started getting page reads from the freebie. The only thing I can figure is that people saw the ad, then clicked the button, but instead of "buying" the free book, they borrowed it instead (either on purpose or accident). My numbers are a tiny fraction of yours, but they have been climbing since the promo, even three weeks later now. We'll see if everything falls off the 30 day cliff after next week, but the additional page reads were an unexpected bonus from the promo.Alan Tuckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06003811594552160836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-28205894522603261072015-08-23T00:31:07.825-05:002015-08-23T00:31:07.825-05:00I can easily believe that people can 'game the...<br />I can easily believe that people can 'game the system' to make their book have more pages.<br /><br />but that's very different from getting people to read those pages.<br /><br />If Amazon bases things on 'last page read', they have a gaping hole in their system, but I thought the early info on this included things like a minimum time spent on a page.<br /><br />Since there are no software updates to the older e-readers, it may be that people reading on those just use 'last page read' as that was already being provided (to allow you to pick up where you left off on another device), but people reading on the kindle app have some different metrics.<br />David Langnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-10703007706343997852015-08-22T21:16:50.071-05:002015-08-22T21:16:50.071-05:00Honestly, I don't think anyone should be worri...Honestly, I don't think anyone should be worried about the folks gaming the system. It's an eternal whack-a-mole game, just like fighting ebook pirates. Pretty much anyone who comes here and peruses the comments is familiar with the mantra of shut up and write. The gamers won't interfere with how your work is perceived and purchased. Your work will stand on its own, and hopefully it will provide a steady income. Let the gamers tilt at Amazon's windmills while your work rises on its own merits.Guy Anthony De Marcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05645925077892778641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19710606708223066762015-08-22T13:01:38.876-05:002015-08-22T13:01:38.876-05:00Amazon's still got a lot to iron out. KENPC is...<i>Amazon's still got a lot to iron out. KENPC isn't fair by any means and if shorts writers were "gaming" Amazon's old system you can believe they'll game this new one.</i><br /><br />Selena, from day one of KU2, I heard people discussing ways they had heard others come up with to game the new system, and I think no matter what Amazon does, someone always will. The best we can hope for is changes to make it harder to game.<br /><br /><br />Joe, right now, I can only hope one day to have numbers like you. Thanks for reporting them and being honest enough to say individual results WILL vary. One thing that always rubbed me was the people touting the way that worked for them and spinning it as something that will work for everyone and in the end just making money off those people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88982131635608832292015-08-22T12:44:24.775-05:002015-08-22T12:44:24.775-05:00And finally, Amazon needs to fix the glitch which ...And finally, Amazon needs to fix the glitch which supposedly counts all pages read even if a reader simply skips to the final page of the book without having read the rest of it. <br /><br />Not sure if the glitch is completely confirmed but so far, I've heard that it is real.<br /><br />Thus, you can be assured the gamers will soon begin placing "treasures" at the very end of the book to ensure people "read to the end" even if they don't really enjoy the book very much.<br /><br />Authors will make sure they get those page reads no matter what--and that is a major loophole the Zon needs to close before too long...gnizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18043750358888135458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-20863033206465485852015-08-22T12:41:11.747-05:002015-08-22T12:41:11.747-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.gnizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18043750358888135458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-31109992680780208892015-08-22T12:11:12.466-05:002015-08-22T12:11:12.466-05:00Hey Joe,
There is a lot that is already starting ...Hey Joe,<br /><br />There is a lot that is already starting to happen, as Selena mentioned. For bundling, it will make a lot of sense for series authors to only have the newest book available in a bundle as opposed to standing alone. This will allow for more visibility on the bundle, get extra page reads and you don't lose anything the way you used to in the old system.<br /><br />Some people will game it, some will be more judicious--but you can bet there will be a lot of "experimentation."<br /><br />For me, I am diversifying my approach. But right now, my stuff is out of KU because I don't feel like being forced to write longer and I found that I can actually make more money by charging higher prices. So Amazon has forced me to up my game and improve, which I suppose goes towards Joe's point...<br /><br />Sigh, I hate admitting I'm wrong.gnizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18043750358888135458noreply@blogger.com