My First Anniversary as a Published Author!

Today, October 11, marks one year since my very first title, my paranormal erotic short Waking Kara, was uploaded to Amazon.

This is a convenient way to mark my career milestones - I could have chosen the day I submitted my first novel, or the day it was contracted. But, the significance of seeing my book go live on Amazon is something that will always stick with me. Slapping that cover up on Facebook, and seeing the first sale... These are things I won't ever forget.

So, looking back, how has it gone?

Well, I'm not rolling in money. No big NYC suit has come to scoop me up. I'm not rich, famous, or powerful. But, I've made royalties in the triple-digits, and I have small, but steady, sales (until the recent slump). Waking Kara, for example, has sold well over a hundred copies, internationally. I've published six titles now, with more on the way, and have received some very nice reviews, and no horrible ones. I've learned so very much, and made many good friends. My reputation isn't wide spread, but I think it's solid. Best of all, I have heard from a few readers who've enjoyed reading what I wrote - and there is no price tag that competes with that.

Would I like to be richer, more famous and/or more powerful by next year? Sure, I guess. But, one thing I know - I still want to be writing a year from now. And that's a good reflection on how I've enjoyed my experience.

Thanks to Wild Horse Press, who first took a chance on me, and to Wicked Nights, Decadent Publishing and Rebel Ink, who have added to my career in too many ways to mention.

And thanks to all of you!

It's been a good year. Here's to another!

*
ETA: How perfect is this? Waking Kara got a review on GR and a blog today. Wonderful timing.

eBook Innovation: Disaster Thriller. Short story. German and two English versions in one eBook.

Author solves problem of language choices for eBook readers.

With eBooks crossing international English language borders, Declan Conner has come up with a novel way of overcoming the problem that creates much heated discussion on e-Reader forums.

Declan recently published 12 separate short stories to include both American and UK and Commonwealth translations in one eBook with internal links for the readers to make the choice.

To take this a stage further he has now published one of the stories with three-language choice to include a German translation. The End, or a New Dawn ( Das Ende, oder ein neuer Anfang.)

Declan Conner has released The End, or a New Dawn as an eBook and made it available in all e-Reader formats. Internal links will enable the reader to navigate the story and to make their own choice of language.

His disaster thriller The End, or a New Dawn reached the finals of a competition judged by Harper Collins editors and authors. The story is included in Lunch Break Thrillers, his UK bestselling short story compilation. Inspired by some of the notions in the bestselling book, Chariot of the Gods, by Erich von Daniken, the story is proving to be controversial in that the fictional scenario put forward extends the argument between creationists and evolutionists. At the same time, Declan uses known scientific facts to produce a scary prediction of a future climate disaster of biblical proportion.

Declan is excited about the project and plans to publish his twelve short stories in the same translated format over the next 12 months. He hopes that the eBook will prove popular, not only with readers of the genre, but also for students of German or English as a second language.

In addition to including three version of the story in German, UK and American English, Declan has provided hyperlinks to the articles that inspired the story. These links are intended to provide to ring of validity to his fictional scenario and to enhance the reading experience.

All books on Amazon.com      All Books on Amazon.com.de      All Books on Amazon.co.uk

Question for You: What makes a Great Kindle Sample?

If you have a Kindle, you know that most ebooks on Amazon come with a sampling feature, which allows you to read the first bit of the book - usually about 10%, I think.

Recently, I downloaded the Kindle for PC program so I can look at how samples impact the reader for myself, comparing book samples that make me feel like buying to samples that don't make me pause to pass it by. Is the sample more or less influential than the synopsis? Can a good sample counteract a so-so synopsis, and vice versa?

It is reasonable to assume that more and more writers are keeping the sample in mind when they edit. Even though we have always been told to give the opening of the book all we have, the sample adds a renewed urgency to those first 10-20 pages of the book.

So, my question(s) for you: Do you sample religiously or only occasionally? What makes a Kindle sample pop for you? What rings the no-sale bell for you? How do you edit for a killer Kindle sample?

Please, leave a comment!

Where Am I? Where Am I Going?

Run Down:

It's been a month of ups and downs in the Kindle business in the eight months since my first release last October, and recently my books have had some movement both up and down. I admit, I don't really understand the sales stats and such on Amazon, but these are the things that seem clear when I look at all of the sales and buzz info I have at hand:

• Unwrapping Scrooge had a strange off-season resurgence this month, including a boost in sales and some increased interest from reviewers. I plan on trying to make the most of that, to get a momentum going, and see if it can translate into a new marketing campaign for the book starting in October/November leading into the Christmas season.
• Waking Kara remains a consistent seller, especially through Amazon.com, even without any marketing or promotions behind it. This solid little number sells about 10 copies a month, on average, and has reached the 100 copies sold mark, according to my calculations. Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but given the lack of promotion, that is not bad. Plan: Let's see if that can do a bit better.
• V-Day has recently made its first showing on the Kindle ranks stats, which is nice to see - I like this book, so I need to work on promoting it better. Due to other obligations at the time, I ignored it way too much when it was released - now the plan is to bring some attention to it, and get a review or two.
• Good for the Goose has seen some very moderate ups and downs, but remains fairly low. I have improved the sales profile of it by highlighting the reviews it got last December, in the hopes of reviving it for the Christmas season. Perhaps the idea for a "Christmas in July" blogging blitz might help a bit.
• Sadly, Strings Attached has failed to sell or to attract reviews. I continue to plod ahead, focusing on posting about it at ebook blogs and submitting it to reviewers. It has been out less than a month, so I have not yet given up on it.

Up till now, I have not spent a single dime on marketing or promo. Unfortunately, I am not really in a position to do so now. However, if some of my plans come through, it might be time to resort to paid promotional activities in the fall. I refuse to become a gambling junkie about it, dumping good money after bad into useless ads in the hopes of striking the jackpot. Nevertheless, a few well-placed ads and spotlights might be helpful, if placed strategically and designed well. We shall see.

~*~

Looking Ahead:

What is bugging me the most at the moment, however, is not my low sales, but the fact that I have no new releases planned in the foreseeable future. This is not good.

My next task is to complete the renovations of my 2010 NaNo project and find it a solid home, so it can see daylight. Then, of course, the marketing and promo will start all over again, and I hope it will have a solid landing strip already laid by my first five available works.

Along side that, I must keep chugging along on my new fiction project, which is proving to be a challenge but an exciting one - I will share details soonish, I promise. Today, I spent four hours writing on it, and I feel like a million bucks!

Constantly pushing finished product is not healthy. If I am not producing, I am merely a former writer, and not a writer in the present. Stats and sales are great - but nothing beats looking forward to a new release!

So, that is the state of the union at the moment.

More details as they come...

NEW: Amazon Author Central Profile

I finally got around to making my Author Central profile on Amazon - I am not sure why it took me so long, except that it gave me performance anxiety for some reason. So, I kept putting it off until I felt up to it. Last night, I finally decided to just do the darn thing.

So, from now on, since all my publishers do sell through Amazon.com, I have a one-stop link for all my books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004GR1CGY

I hope that makes it easier for people to keep track of me. My blog posts also feed to there, and I have a little forum thingy there, I notice - watch for my release day celebration to make it there in May 2011, along with at my Yahoo group and anywhere else I can book.

I feel like such a grown up!

Unwrapping Scrooge: First Week, So Far

I am very excited to share that informal early reviews of Unwrapping Scrooge have been very positive. I am thrilled that people are enjoying this story. I enjoyed writing it, and I am pleased readers are receiving it well.

It is also now available on Amazon, which I hope will encourage more people to stick this story in their stocking this year!

Thanks for reading, folks!