February is over and I have a few things to report.
First, I got a sale! Seriously, ONE SALE is now something to celebrate. And why not? It may be dragging its ass in the mud, but occasionally it gets to look at the sky and dream of flying.
Secondly, I finished the Createspace thing and did a Goodreads Giveaway, which just finished last night, with 440 people requesting it.
A few lessons learned from the Giveaway. Firstly, I arranged for it to last ten days, but it took Goodreads three days to start it up, so I only got seven days in the end. Don't make the same mistake.
I thought ten days would be right for a giveaway, though I don't know why. I think I was thinking about the average auction times on ebay. Had I done my research properly, I would have noticed that quite a few giveaways last a whole month. Most of the requests, of course, happen on the last day or so (just like ebay), but if you think of the giveaway as a billboard ad, then it makes sense to have it up as long as possible, especially since it doesn't cost you extra for the exposure. I shall probably leave it for a decent interval, then do another one, for a whole month this time.
One question for you guys across the pond - I have the address of the giveaway winner, and the address is NC, followed by the zip code. On the envelope, do I lay it out like this:
NC
xxxxx
Or like this:
NC xxxxx
On another note, I was struck that the winner is a woman (as are most of those who have put the book on their to-read lists). Considering the content, this book is attracting more women than men. Useful marketing info, I suppose. I don't know what to do with it yet, but it's good to know.
The to-read lists are also interesting. Most people who put my book on theirs had hundreds of books on their lists. Sometimes over a thousand. Only one had less than a hundred - and they had 95. The chances of them getting round to reading mine? Slim. I wonder if people use the to-read as a 'like' equivalent. A sort of 'good luck with that', rather than an act of serious intent.
The other great news is that we Europeans don't have to get paid by check anymore! Amazon has entered the 21st Century and will wire me my earnings. Once I make enough, that is.
But Smashwords has updated its sales, and it turned out I sold a book on Barnes and Noble last December, rather than zero as I originally thought. Did you know that Smashwords also emails you direct when you make a sale on their own site? Until now, I had no idea because I hadn't sold anything the whole time, but today someone bought my book on Smashwords! And I got mail.
Just think of how many hours I wasted going to the dashboard to check my sales there. Now I know - if I don't hear, it ain't there.
I got two reviews too. A thoughtful 3-star (thanks Sami) and a strange 4-star that reads like a 2-star. Every rose, it seems, has a silver cloud. Or something like that.
