Happy Weekend, WG2E-Land!
I’m filling-in for The Edit Dude‘s regular spot today because he’s making a huge move…literally moving…as in he’s physically moving back to his farm. Why? Because he’ll now be Freelance Editing Full-Time!!! In just two months, he’s built up his client list enough that he can now Freelance Edit full-time!
Congrats, Edit Dude! You rock!
Y’all can give him virtual high-fives when he’s here with us next Saturday for his regular monthly post.
In the mean time…
Wow have I got some A-mazing new sales numbers to share!!!
So y’all know I’ve had huge success on Amazon Kindle with my Ridin’ The Free-Way Experiment (where Kindle matched my Free price for the book that started it all for me – BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS - Book One of my Bootscootin’ Books Series).
BUT
What about on Apple iPad and B&N Nook?
How does a Free Ebook on those platforms affect the sales of your other Ebooks?
Make sure you’re sitting down…
I just got the numbers this week from Smashwords, and here’s the scoop…
Oh, first…let me give you the breakdown of how I use Smashwords Channels…
For now, my Bootscootin’ Books (BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS, STOMPIN’ ON STETSONS, and BUCKLES ME BABY plus my non-fiction, on-writing book MUSE THERAPY: UNLEASHING YOUR INNER SYBIL) get to Nook, iPad, Sony, Kobo and Diesel via Smashwords.
Beginning with my Cozy Cash Mysteries (THUG GUARD and LIP GLOCK) and now my Mom Squad Mini-Mayhem Mysteries too (FLUID FULFILLMENT and LICENSED FOR LOVE), I use Nook’s PubIt for B&N distribution.
The difference…I used to think PubIt gave you better visibility on B&N Nook than Smashwords (not sure now…and you’ll see why in my numbers). Also, I do luuuvvv that PubIt numbers are daily, and they pay monthly, versus Smashwords only reporting and paying quarterly.
Oh, and you’ll need this scoop too…B&N Nook and iPad matched my Free price for BOOTSCOOTIN’ on or around September 8th, 2011. And all the rest of my fiction books are 99 Cents each. Only my non-fiction is at the $2.99 price point now.
Okay…now then…the numbers:
Apple iPad
Aug. 2010 – Aug. 2011 = 7 copies sold
Sept. 2011 = 406 copies sold
B&N Nook
Aug. 2010 – Aug. 2011 = 100 copies sold
Sept. 2011 = 791 copies sold
***Note: And on Nook, remember, that’s 791 copies of just two titles – STOMPIN’ ON STETSONS and BUCKLES ME BABY. If you include my Nook PubIt titles too, the number goes up to 1010 copies sold on Nook in September 2011!***
Meaning: Again, just like with Kindle, I’m now selling more in one month on each of these platforms than I did the entire last year!!!
Also, I’m wondering now, if it’s not that PubIt gives you better visibility than Smashwords, it’s PRICE that makes or breaks your visibility and algorithm standings.
I’m tellin’ y’all there’s something very “reader magical” about being able to say “I’d luuuvvv for you to try my books…in fact, the first one is on me”!!!
It’s Your Turn WG2E-Land: Tell us about your Apple iPad and B&N Nook via Smashwords and/or PubIt experiences…Are you seeing growth there? And if you’ve also tried my Ridin’ The Free-Way Experiment, what impact has that had on your sales on these platforms?
The Best of The WG2E Ridin’ The Free-Way Wishes — D. D. Scott
Fantastic! For some reason, Smashwords isn’t bringing up the usual payment history for me so I can’t see what I’ve sold through my freebie experiments. Will keep checking it.
Awesome for you, DD!
Thanks bunches, Sibel! I’m over the moon!!!
Did you see where Smashwords has changed their reporting features? I found mine by going into the Sales and Payment History button, then clicking on the 2011 button in the top middle…that’s when you can then see your channel breakdown. It’s not on that Sales and Payment home screen anymore.
Thanks, hon! Will check it out
Wow – congrats on those fab numbers! An inspiration for me to build my back list.(Currently have 1 out with another to be released by December)
Thanks sooo very much, Liz!
Back list is one of the key ingredients indeed.
Filling your cyber shelves with greats books for great prices keeps your new readers comin’ back for more…and more…and more.
Wow! And double Wow! Just fantastic!
Thanks bunches and bunches, Ruth!
I’m just beyond thrilled to be welcoming all these new readers to my Bootscootin, Cozy Cash and Mom Squad Mystery worlds!
Sending out big high fives to you, DeeDee! I have not yet tried to format my second book according to Smashwords requirements (the first book was rejected for format reasons about four times). I started out using Pub-It for both books in the Undead in Brown County series and have been very happy with their reporting process, especially compared to Amazon. You’ve got to LOVE seeing those daily numbers! Congrats on your success!
High fives right backatchya, S.J.!
My superfab format guy Rob Siders of 52 Novels – who is also now formatting for Amazon’s new imprints as well (Go, Rob, Go!) – does my Smashwords formatting too! Even he says Smashwords is very, very tough.
And PubIt’s reporting does indeed rock!
Great numbers, D.D.! Congrats!!!!! Also a big congrats to “The Edit Dude” for his success! Way to go!
Awe shucks, Jeanne, thanks sooo very much!
And how cool that in just two months, our Edit Dude is Freelance Editing full-time for his A-mazing clientele list?!
Kudos! Super amazing, D.D. ! You go, Girlfriend!!!
I’ve been crunching trying to get my own stuff ready. Your post definitely gets my mojo in gear.
Thanx for sharing and inspiring.
That’s what The WG2E is all about, Alicia…sharing and inspiring and gettin’ each other’s mojo in gear!
I can’t wait to celebrate your first Indie Epub release!!!
Go, Girl, Go!!!
Way to go, D.D. So happy to hear of your successes with offering your first book for free.
And happy for Edit Dude, too. He’s off and running, in good part due to your tellin’ the world about him and his great work… as well as adding him to the rotation on WG2E.
I appreciate all that you guys do.
And we sooo appreciate all our WG2E Peeps, like you, Dean!
Nothin’ beats writers helping writers and sharin’ great resources too…like our superfab Edit Dude!!!
Cheers!!!
It took 2 weeks for me to get approved for the Premium catalog at Smashwords so my stuff just started going to the other places so I won’t know for awhile how I’m doing. Love your numbers, keep up the good work.
Yep, that’s the deal, Jill…it takes about two weeks to get approved for the Smashwords Premium Catalog…then, you must get an ISBN to be distributed to their channels…I always go with the $10.00 one so I can register the book in my name and not Smashwords.
Don’t forget to Opt Out of distribution to B&N Nook, if you’re using PubIt, and also to Opt Out of Amazon Kindle, if you’re using KDP.
It then takes about 6 to 8 weeks to see your first book live on iPad, Sony and Kobo via Smashwords. Then, for each book after that, about 2-4 weeks it seems.
For your first round of sales numbers, usually 3 to 6 months, depending on when you hit the current quarterly cycle for Smashwords.
You’re amazing, DD, congratulations! I love watching your numbers. Thanks for sharing.
U betchya, Sheila, and thanks sooo very much!
I luuuvvv being able to show y’all – in real numbers – that your possibilities for reaching readers in our Indie Epub World are endless!!!
Thanks so much for the info on Smashwords vs. PubIt. Since writers outside the US can only use Smashwords, it’s good to know there isn’t a huge difference after all. Great numbers, D. D. You’re an inspiration to us all!
U betchya, Anne!
And boy, I’ll admit, I was surprised about Smashwords vs PubIt. I thought for sure, based on my initial numbers that PubIt had better visibility…but, just like almost all my other experiment results, I’ve learned that it’s PRICE above all that affects visibility…at least as far as initially tapping into new reader bases.
Fantastic! Thanks for telling us about the Smashwords reports, I wasn’t sure how to use them but after you said they had done some tweaking I downloaded a spreadsheet for 2011 and can I just say OMG!!!!! I had no idea I had that many free downloads from B&N. Downloads from Sony surprised me too. Sales of my second book aren’t too bad either. 522 from May to end of Sep YAY!!!
Brilliant post yesterday too. I’m going to look into the auto edit prog to help me before sending my work to my editor. I’m reading a bit sporadically at the mo. Still on vacation and catching up when I can
Great news DD well done!
Those Smashwords reports can be mighty tricky, Alison!!!
And wow!!! Fantabulous sales for you too, Girlfriend!!! Congrats!!! Time for some Happy Dancin’!!!
This is all fantastic and eye popping news however, I am thrilled that the Edit Dude has enough free-lance work and is moving back to his farm. Yay!
High-fives all around for The Edit Dude, right Consuelo?!!!
Cheers to that!!!
Thank you for your posts – they are very helpful to Indy authors who are wading through this stuff for the first time! I have a question that I suspect you may be able to answer regarding Kindle books on Amazon. I have noticed that many times a book will hit the bestseller list in a subcategory – sometimes those subcategories are very specific and I find that they are not available for me to choose from when I’m selecting what categories my book should go in. I have a feeling that they come from the tags people assign to your books, but I’m not sure. I imagine that them more specific your categories are, the more likely you’ll be to hit the bestseller list in those categories, but I don’t know how to control them. Any ideas? Looking forward to your thoughts – and thanks again! Leeann