Over 21K downloads and still going strong

JanG · 01-22-2010, 09:22 AM

Feedbooks has been a wonderful experience for me. I uploaded my first book, "Black Silk", there last July, and as of today it has been downloaded over 21,300 times.

I uploaded it to Smashwords in September and it's standing at #27 in their top 100.

Both sites are easy to use and very good at answering queries. Thank you to both Hadrien (Feedbooks) and Mark (Smashwords) for running such wonderful self-publishing services.

Yes, there have been a few nasty reviews, but they have been far outweighed by the many positive reviews that I've received at both sites and in private emails (and on many blogs and forums). In fact, I'm slightly in awe of the response I've been getting.

--JanG.

mores · 01-22-2010, 09:28 AM

Now immagine if you charged $0.10 for it

Definately not my cup of tea, romance and cats, but I'd like to congratulate you on your success. 21k downloads is nothing to sneeze at.

dreams · 02-05-2010, 02:23 AM

I don't know how I missed this thread, but I want to say, "Congratulations, Jan!" I thought it was a very fun story to read.

I especially appreciate the fact that you put your book up with no DRM, no geographic restrictions, and made it available in multiple formats.

As I post this, your book on feedbooks has over 23,300 downloads and is marked as favorite by 24 people.

So, is there another book in the works?

lene1949 · 02-05-2010, 02:47 AM

Congratulations!

I've still to read the book, but I'll get around to it...

jaxx6166 · 02-05-2010, 11:50 PM

That's certainly one hell of an accomplishment. Congrats.

Andanzas · 02-08-2010, 03:15 AM

Congratulations! That's awesome.

Now, just for the heck of it, adopt the agency model and sell your books for $14.99, just to see what happens.

J. Dean · 02-08-2010, 01:20 PM

Very cool and inspiring to the rest of us! Keep it up and congratulations!

DrZoidberg · 02-09-2010, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JanG

Yes, there have been a few nasty reviews, but they have been far outweighed by the many positive reviews that I've received at both sites and in private emails (and on many blogs and forums). In fact, I'm slightly in awe of the response I've been getting.

--JanG.

But it's the nasty reviews that make us better writers

Even if they don't help your sales of this book, they'll help your sales of the next one.

dadioflex · 02-11-2010, 08:24 AM

Edit.

JanG · 02-12-2010, 07:30 AM

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner, but I'm without a computer at the moment. My laptop had to go back to the lab, the battery died and it's only eight months old.

Thanks, everyone, for your congrats.

@Dreams, I'm writing a sequel, but after three chapters and a prologue my muse has decided to take a winter break! This is annoying the hell out of me, because the story is continuing to play in my mind like a movie but I can't seem to get it down on to paper (screen). And you know my opinion of geographic restrictions!!

Constructive criticism of one's writing is good, it helps us to become better writers. Nasty (and sometimes quite personal) "reviews" are just downright rude and of no use at all.

--JanG.

Scott Nicholson · 02-12-2010, 08:44 PM

Jan, I'm curious...what is your goal in giving your work away? Do you hope to build an audience and then sell books later? Or do you just want readers? I know there are many reasons for setting a price, which is why I asked, since many writers charge a buck or two.

Scott Nicholson
http://hauntedcomputerbooks.blogspot.com

JanG · 02-13-2010, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Nicholson

Jan, I'm curious...what is your goal in giving your work away? Do you hope to build an audience and then sell books later? Or do you just want readers? I know there are many reasons for setting a price, which is why I asked, since many writers charge a buck or two.

Scott Nicholson

Hi Scott, I have absolutely no intention of selling my stories. My first love is fanfiction and I have a following in that genre. I write purely to entertain myself and my friends, if along the way, I entertain others, that's a wonderful bonus.

Now I have to give my son back his computer. (Sigh) Being computerless is starting to annoy me!

--Jan.

Kemp · 02-13-2010, 11:38 PM

Hrm... I suppose you'll have to thieve the computer again, but how would you describe your marketing efforts on feedbooks? Have you seen a lot of luck with just random users passing by, or is the book buried too deeply within the site to find?

Admittedly, in my opinion, I think aesthetically and functionally, Smashwords isn't all that great for the free ebook. I'd say the general idea is sheer numbers, but Smashwords seems to have fairly constant site slowdowns and issues. Not to mention it being unable to actually find a book unless you're linked directly to it, and competing with the people charging for it.

At a glance, Feedbooks seems a little more streamlined and user friendly. Do you find this to be the case? Has anyone else used Feedbooks?

JanG · 02-14-2010, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kemp

Hrm... I suppose you'll have to thieve the computer again, but how would you describe your marketing efforts on feedbooks? Have you seen a lot of luck with just random users passing by, or is the book buried too deeply within the site to find?

Admittedly, in my opinion, I think aesthetically and functionally, Smashwords isn't all that great for the free ebook. I'd say the general idea is sheer numbers, but Smashwords seems to have fairly constant site slowdowns and issues. Not to mention it being unable to actually find a book unless you're linked directly to it, and competing with the people charging for it.

At a glance, Feedbooks seems a little more streamlined and user friendly. Do you find this to be the case? Has anyone else used Feedbooks?

Kids are at school, so I have free rein on my younger son's computer.

I have a large network within the fanfiction community so that's how I initially got the word out for my book on Feedbooks. It climbed rapidly and is now sitting at the #2 'all time' most popular spot, so it's not buried. However, I can easily understand how a book can get lost on both Feedbooks and on Smashwords.

I uploaded to Smashwords some two months after Feedbooks and it was very slow going to begin with. My 'network' had already been tapped for the Feedbooks upload. Eventually it began to climb on Smashwords as well, and 'popularity' is self-perpetuating.

I think I was lucky in that a few weeks after I uploaded my book there was an explosion of uploads, but there was enough time for my work to get noticed before it got buried.

The only 'marketing ploy' I used, if you can use that term in connection with a free ebook, was uploading the first few chapers on FictionPress with a note at the end saying where the entire book was available. Now that downloads have slowed somewhat, I'm uploading the rest of the chapters to FictionPress.

Of course, there's no way of knowing how many of the Feedbooks downloads originated at FictionPress.

I don't "do" social networking like Facebook or Twitter, but I've been told they can be quite successful if used for publicity. I don't blog or have a website, everything has been word of mouth or chance. I'm happy about this, because, of course, I've no intention of earning money from my scribblings.

--JanG.

01-22-2010, 09:22 AM	#1
JanG Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 6266 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Laptop; Kobo Clara	Over 21K downloads and still going strong Feedbooks has been a wonderful experience for me. I uploaded my first book, "Black Silk", there last July, and as of today it has been downloaded over 21,300 times. I uploaded it to Smashwords in September and it's standing at #27 in their top 100. Both sites are easy to use and very good at answering queries. Thank you to both Hadrien (Feedbooks) and Mark (Smashwords) for running such wonderful self-publishing services. Yes, there have been a few nasty reviews, but they have been far outweighed by the many positive reviews that I've received at both sites and in private emails (and on many blogs and forums). In fact, I'm slightly in awe of the response I've been getting. --JanG.

02-11-2010, 08:24 AM	#9
dadioflex Dyslexic Count Posts: 526 Karma: 5041991 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Palm TX, Advent Vega, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle	Edit. Last edited by dadioflex; 12-15-2010 at 06:36 PM.

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01-22-2010, 09:28 AM	#2
mores Guru Posts: 834 Karma: 102419 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vienna, Austria Device: iPhone	Now immagine if you charged $0.10 for it Definately not my cup of tea, romance and cats, but I'd like to congratulate you on your success. 21k downloads is nothing to sneeze at.

02-05-2010, 02:23 AM	#3
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,110 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	I don't know how I missed this thread, but I want to say, "Congratulations, Jan!" I thought it was a very fun story to read. I especially appreciate the fact that you put your book up with no DRM, no geographic restrictions, and made it available in multiple formats. As I post this, your book on feedbooks has over 23,300 downloads and is marked as favorite by 24 people. So, is there another book in the works?

02-05-2010, 02:47 AM	#4
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Congratulations! I've still to read the book, but I'll get around to it...

02-05-2010, 11:50 PM	#5
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	That's certainly one hell of an accomplishment. Congrats.

02-08-2010, 03:15 AM	#6
Andanzas Out of print Posts: 487 Karma: 1549538 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Sony PRS-500 (recycled), Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro	Congratulations! That's awesome. Now, just for the heck of it, adopt the agency model and sell your books for $14.99, just to see what happens.

02-08-2010, 01:20 PM	#7
J. Dean Author: Clade Josso Posts: 80 Karma: 500474 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Michigan Device: none	Very cool and inspiring to the rest of us! Keep it up and congratulations!

02-12-2010, 07:30 AM	#10
JanG Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 6266 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Laptop; Kobo Clara	I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner, but I'm without a computer at the moment. My laptop had to go back to the lab, the battery died and it's only eight months old. Thanks, everyone, for your congrats. @Dreams, I'm writing a sequel, but after three chapters and a prologue my muse has decided to take a winter break! This is annoying the hell out of me, because the story is continuing to play in my mind like a movie but I can't seem to get it down on to paper (screen). And you know my opinion of geographic restrictions!! Constructive criticism of one's writing is good, it helps us to become better writers. Nasty (and sometimes quite personal) "reviews" are just downright rude and of no use at all. --JanG.

02-12-2010, 08:44 PM	#11
Scott Nicholson Scott Nicholson, author Posts: 363 Karma: 2029337 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Boone NC Device: Kindle	Jan, I'm curious...what is your goal in giving your work away? Do you hope to build an audience and then sell books later? Or do you just want readers? I know there are many reasons for setting a price, which is why I asked, since many writers charge a buck or two. Scott Nicholson http://hauntedcomputerbooks.blogspot.com

02-13-2010, 11:38 PM	#13
Kemp Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 271834 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Minnesota Device: none	Hrm... I suppose you'll have to thieve the computer again, but how would you describe your marketing efforts on feedbooks? Have you seen a lot of luck with just random users passing by, or is the book buried too deeply within the site to find? Admittedly, in my opinion, I think aesthetically and functionally, Smashwords isn't all that great for the free ebook. I'd say the general idea is sheer numbers, but Smashwords seems to have fairly constant site slowdowns and issues. Not to mention it being unable to actually find a book unless you're linked directly to it, and competing with the people charging for it. At a glance, Feedbooks seems a little more streamlined and user friendly. Do you find this to be the case? Has anyone else used Feedbooks?