Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
The question I'm facing is how hard is it to reach those sales goals? Are sustained sales of four copies per title per day easy for the average author to achieve, or does that represent significantly above average results?
What are reasonable expectations?
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So I am struggling to find information on that. It is easy to get information about the top 10%, and we know the bottom is 0 sales. Its the middle that is hard to solid data on.
I am currently writing 10k words a week (new goal for this year), part time, a couple nights a week. My novels are in the 100k range when complete. I am hoping get ahead of my production curve so that I am putting out several books a year, instead of just one.
Some people get a head on these numbers by serializing their novels. They release a 100k book in installments of 15k. They take advantage of all the "new release" lists by putting out a new installment every 30 days. That is working very well for some. It is a valid option to consider.
I will say this.. it is easy to get in the top 20 of many sub categories on Amazon free books for a short run. It is easy to get a large spike of downloads in a burst on Amazon Free books. If your book is good, both of those should start to give you traction. Exposure matters more than most are willing to admit.
In a promotion (like Bookbub) of a series with a free book 1, assuming your book is good, and well targeted, you can expect 1-2% of your downloads will read the book and buy its sequel. If your sequel is as good or better than the free one, you can expect 80% probably to buy through to the next book.
That is reasonable.
My permafree book is three years old. I assume I am not exceptional. With NO promotion, my current conversion rate is 10% (5% buy book 2, and 5% buy my omnibus). When I run a promotion (I have tried 3 so far) my conversion rate tanks to the 1-2% I mentioned above. This is consistently reported by others. I have been as high as #5 on Amazon's free list. I do not have 20 books out, but if I did, and maintained current sales numbers, I could quit my day job.
Again, I do not think I am exceptional. I think averaging 4 sales a day is probably reachable by authors that put out reasonably decent books (as determined by the market, the real gatekeeper in the indy world).
Again, all of this assumes you can write. If you can't, then well, I don't know how to help you.
