Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lake
You're only shooting for 50!? Dude, I sold that in the first month after I released Oort Perimeter, my very first novel ever published! And aside from all my followers in the FOSS community, I was pretty much an unknown. Wow, I guess after hearing that I don't feel quite as bad anymore about how many I'm selling right now per month. heh. I thought that you were doing bad if you sold less than 100 a month, and here you're saying that you'll be happy if you sell 50 overall! 0.0;;
I figure I could probably sell a LOT more than I do per month now if I could only find a way to get better know, but that seems to be an uphill battle under heavy fire these days. T_T
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Obviously my first instinct is to thank you for your encouragement, tell you how great it makes me feel and add an aside that I'm a sarcastic bastard.
However, despite sounding a little bit cocky, or perhaps, more like a university student asking somebody in kindergarten why they haven't got their head round calculus yet. I know you didn't really mean that in the tone it comes out.
OK. The book's fine. Paperback out next week, e-book out on smashwords only. The killer is time.
Marketing takes research and networking. Research and networking take time, selling takes time, come to think of it, putting my entire book into clean html so I can publish it somewhere other than Smashwords and it might actually achieve some e-book sales will take a SOD of a long time. My problem is, I have 90 minutes a week and I am as CASH poor as I am time poor.
I don't have the time to build up a following on FOSS or anywhere else that might give it the kick up the communal arse it needs to sell bucket loads straight away. I'm bending it backwards getting here for a couple of hours a week.
Hmm... What to do? Slow burn. It's is the only option.
Selling my book can only happen at about the speed glaciers move. But if it's good that doesn't matter because I'll catch up in the end. If my 50 friends and rellies read it and like it they'll tell their friends, they'll write reviews on Amazon and then maybe, just maybe, I'll sell more. Mr Godin's ideas virus, if you like, if it's good it will sell. Book them and they will come.
The thing is, the viral, no money approach isn't going to happen overnight. I know my limitations. I'm piss poor at sales, so the way I have to do it, is let other people enjoy my book, let them do the evangelising and sell it for me. The word of happy readers will carry far more weight than me doing it, anyway.
So yeh, you've more sales than me but watch this space, buster. I may well catch you in the end.
Cheers
MTM