Hi all, I have (amazingly) managed to write and finish my first book and have (self) published it to Kindle and have so far managed - by word of mouth - to sell just over a thousand copies.

Kind of shocked me as well.

I know nothing about PR, marketing or any of that business and my resources are limited (I am my own editor, designer, PR executive etc) and I was wondering, as this forum attracts an insane cross section of society, if anyone has any experience of this or if they do could they give me any ideas or suggestions about how to get my sales to the next level.

Just wanted to put it out there. Thanks in advance.



Shev

I can't help with marketing but..

what's the title
whats the book about
and.... how much?

Oh, that'd be an idea. Here's the link on Amazon:

It's called Insecure and it's £1.80 on Amazon.co.uk

It's a comic/tragic/crime novel about two brothers who don't want to - and don't know how to - rob a bank...have to try and rob a bank.

First of all well done!

Second, do you want to turn it into a film? :-) I could write the music....
Do you want to make a film?

Like I said, well done. I think 1000 copies word of mouth is pretty impressive.

Just interested, are you keen to stay withing e-publishing, or are you hoping to get actual books printed too?

1001 copies ( how much trouble can I get into for £1.80 )


EDIT... as for marketing... ever thought of setting up a table?
http://www.expat-expo.info/Geneva.html

a certain cheesy person here might be able to give you some ideas/costs.

I have a good friend who is a commercials director in the UK who I am working with to turn it into a serviceable screenplay. Harder than it sounds.

But I have another short film script that I'd LOVE to turn into a film...would be a 10 - 15 minute film.

I have looked into it, but I just don't have the money to get even a short run printed so I have to go down the e-book route. There is a subsidiary of Amazon called Createspace (IIRC) and they will print on demand...but it's quite hefty up-front costs.

It was quite easy to publish to Kindle and once I had done the formatting it was quite straightforward. I am currently trying to publish to the iBook store with Apple as a paid book and it is very difficult. I also have to purchase an ISBN as opposed to an ESBN which is free.

Could you PM me some details? I would like to look over some costs and see if it is do-able.

Can I ?... no, ....other than attending for a few years I have no direct knowledge of it

I know there are details withing the site and one of our former regulars here ( he still pops in time to time ) has set up for a few years, but I'm going to have to leave it to him if he wants to answer or not.

sorry


FAQS from the site.
http://www.expat-expo.info/exhibitor.html
http://www.expat-expo.info/howmuchitcosts.html

I can't help you but I know a man that can! I have a good friend who is an author, Here's his website, he's a good chap so if you drop him a note I'm sure he can give you some advice.

http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/

Here's a tip - reduce the price. Sell it for $0.99. Try it for a week and see how it goes. I suspect you'll take in a lot more profit.

That's an idea - are books charged at $0.99 marketed better by Amazon or is there a market for books at that price?

I read something on amazon book pricing before and it seemed that $0.99 was a psychological barrier that took books into the 'impulse purchase' category and one author saw a 10x increase in sales.

Are you writing your 2nd book yet? I know you're a really good writer so if you're writing more, you'd probably benefit from getting your name known and having more readers with less profit each any how.

1. Never ever go to one of those publishers where you would have to finance the print of your book. No serious company will ever touch you with a three foot pole after that.

2. You sold over a thousand copies? I think that is the key, no? There are thousands of (bad) writers out there trying to get into a publisher... normally with only a chapter written yet or so. You have a finished book AND already some surprising uptake purely through word of mouth.

Send a copy to every publishing house you think might be a fit for your book (just go to a bookshop and have a look who publishes similar genre books...). Tell them you made a book basically for yourself and you are surprised that it got so popular without any marketing. That should raise some interest.... and with a bit of luck do you get paid for getting it printed, not the other way around.

Oh, and since all your friends are buying it, make sure they review and rate you on amazon.

Alright - done. I am going to lower the price now and report back with what's changed. If I sell another thousand copies then it'll be worth it.

I am writing my second book...but I am a stay at home dad and animator and finding the time is pretty tough. Thanks for the compliment

You say you have sold a 1000 copies, how many on Amazon? The reason I ask is that you only have 3 reviews. The reviews on Amazon go along way so if you have friends and families who are willing to write an 'honest' review for you then get them to do this as it will help with Amazon sales.

You're right, if I go to a publisher (or agent, I guess) with a few thousand sales then it makes me look like a bank-able prospect.

I just wanted to say congrats- that's a big deal to write a novel, and to have sold 1000 (+1, good ol' Grynchie) just like that is impressive!