Hello everyone, and welcome to the next step of the journey -- earning money. As many of you know (or should, by this point), I published the first installment of an ongoing, serialized story on January 9th. It's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, the iBookstore, and Kobo (still waiting for it to show up on Sony's bookstore) for $0.99 in eBook format.
I want to get two questions out of the way from the start:
1. No. I haven't sold very many yet. Just because it's out there doesn't mean people have found it yet.
2. Just because it hasn't sold very many yet doesn't mean it won't further down the line.
This is a long road, a journey that takes years -- even after making a successful (or even profitable) first publication.
So, with that in mind, I bring you my sales figures for January. I'm planning on doing this each month, not because I want to brag, but because I want to provide a window into the life of a writer taking the first steps on his career. (I'm getting better at this openness thing, right? Right?)
Hopefully, we'll be able to watch an upward trend toward viability over the next few months/years/decades. But I'm not in a position to make any promises.
All I can do is report the information.
1. The Numbers
"Reserved for War: Paradise Remnants Episode 1"
Amazon Kindle: 4
Barnes & Noble Nook: 1
Smashwords: 1
Total: 6
2. The Profits
"Reserved for War: Paradise Remnants Episode 1"
Amazon Kindle: 35% of price
Barnes & Noble Nook: 40% of price
Smashwords: 60% of price
3. The Earnings
"Reserved for War: Paradise Remnants Episode 1"
Amazon Kindle: $1.40
Barnes & Noble Nook: $0.40
Smashwords: $0.56
Total: $2.36
4. The Analysis
(Because I defy the trilogy model!)
Now, what do all these numbers and such show us?
Well, first, it shows that I'm not wildly popular (yet). It's only been a month, though, (less than that, actually, since I published on the 9th), so that's really not very long for anyone to have taken notice of me. Ebooks are forever, so I'll continue making money off of this release in twenty years, assuming I leave it up and people decide to buy the story one episode at a time. (As opposed to the full season, or something.)
That's the other factor at play here: this is my only release so far, and it labels itself as the first in a series. I don't know about you, but a lot of readers are wary about jumping into a series with an unknown author when there aren't at least a few other pieces to his name. It's just not worth the investment of time, money, and emotion.
Where does that leave me? Well, the theory goes that, as I release more stories -- not just in this series, but across my name -- I'll build reader confidence and visibility. This will then lead to more sales. Eventually, it will lead to a sustainable lifestyle.
But for now, I have to balance all of this with "real life."
*sigh*
Back to work. Thanks for listening. Until next time...
-joshua kehe
Smashwords: 60% of price
3. The Earnings
"Reserved for War: Paradise Remnants Episode 1"
Amazon Kindle: $1.40
Barnes & Noble Nook: $0.40
Smashwords: $0.56
Total: $2.36
4. The Analysis
(Because I defy the trilogy model!)
Now, what do all these numbers and such show us?
Well, first, it shows that I'm not wildly popular (yet). It's only been a month, though, (less than that, actually, since I published on the 9th), so that's really not very long for anyone to have taken notice of me. Ebooks are forever, so I'll continue making money off of this release in twenty years, assuming I leave it up and people decide to buy the story one episode at a time. (As opposed to the full season, or something.)
That's the other factor at play here: this is my only release so far, and it labels itself as the first in a series. I don't know about you, but a lot of readers are wary about jumping into a series with an unknown author when there aren't at least a few other pieces to his name. It's just not worth the investment of time, money, and emotion.
Where does that leave me? Well, the theory goes that, as I release more stories -- not just in this series, but across my name -- I'll build reader confidence and visibility. This will then lead to more sales. Eventually, it will lead to a sustainable lifestyle.
But for now, I have to balance all of this with "real life."
*sigh*
Back to work. Thanks for listening. Until next time...
-joshua kehe
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