Going Hybrid
- Thread starter lauralam
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The artist does knitted work and illustrations, the illustration section is here.
Thanks!
Nice, I like the Diane de Poitiers one best, though the catching lightening bugs is incredibly cute
Wow that's great! I hope those 400 people tell others and it results in more book sales!
I think it will result in more reviews and sales, but that'd be interesting to know the impact.
So far, no discernible change, but a few people tweeting me saying they liked it!
Last cover and blurb up on the blog!
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/vestigial-tales-the-card-sharp-blurb-and-cover/
Also got my contract through from Macmillan today, yay!
Last cover and blurb up on the blog!
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/vestigial-tales-the-card-sharp-blurb-and-cover/
Also got my contract through from Macmillan today, yay!
Month 3 roundup: http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/20...or-month-3-the-tarot-reader-kindle-countdown/
Numbers:
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 87
Borrowed (Amazon): 0 (interesting, as Kindle Unlimited went live recently)
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for August: 87
Total Sales to Date: 263
Per Story:
“The Snake Charm” at $2.99: 14
“The Snake Charm” free as part of the Kindle Select promotion: 395
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 29
“The Tarot Reader”: 44
Total Gross Income for August: £78.52
Total Gross Income to Date: £217.06 ($358.81)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £85.54 ($140.61)
Numbers:
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 87
Borrowed (Amazon): 0 (interesting, as Kindle Unlimited went live recently)
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for August: 87
Total Sales to Date: 263
Per Story:
“The Snake Charm” at $2.99: 14
“The Snake Charm” free as part of the Kindle Select promotion: 395
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 29
“The Tarot Reader”: 44
Total Gross Income for August: £78.52
Total Gross Income to Date: £217.06 ($358.81)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £85.54 ($140.61)
Sales have really slowed the last few days. I'm a bit late with the last Vestigial Tale so I'm hoping once that's up things will bounce up again.
I'm researching Kickstarter for the third Micah Grey book, and hoping to have that up last month.
Rights for the first two are still up in the air. Evidently someone bought Angry Robot, so maybe once that's announced I'll find out if they want to keep the rights, or if I can get them back. If the rights are returned I'll put them up myself, and won't need a Kickstarter to do so as they're already edited. Though I'm not sure if I'd be able to use my existing covers or if I'll have to commission new ones. I am still in bookshops here and there, which is good, but according to Amazon Central and TCM in the UK, my sales are so-so.
I'm researching Kickstarter for the third Micah Grey book, and hoping to have that up last month.
Rights for the first two are still up in the air. Evidently someone bought Angry Robot, so maybe once that's announced I'll find out if they want to keep the rights, or if I can get them back. If the rights are returned I'll put them up myself, and won't need a Kickstarter to do so as they're already edited. Though I'm not sure if I'd be able to use my existing covers or if I'll have to commission new ones. I am still in bookshops here and there, which is good, but according to Amazon Central and TCM in the UK, my sales are so-so.
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Your publisher will probably have licensed specific rights to the image used, and paid a designer to come up with the design for them to use. You will have to relicense the image and get permission from the designer to use that cover; you'll also have to get your own ISBN, and perhaps even write new sales copy for the back cover if your publisher wrote it for you.
If I were you I'd assume that you have do produce new everything.
Also, check your contract to ensure you're allowed to use the edited version of your book: some publishers prohibit this, although it is usually the smaller ones which place such limitations on their authors.
Good to know. I knew about the ISBN already. I wrote the cover copy myself for both of them, though I'd completely change the first book's as it doesn't really encapsulate what the book is about. I have a feeling the edited one would be all right to use, though I'd probably hire a copyeditor to go over all three to make sure all details are consistent through the trilogy.
My friend was able to have the rights from the designer for her third book (which was meant to be out through SC in August). But I've not contacted the artist yet as I still have no idea what's up with the rights.
Hi there. I am on the road to becoming a hybrid. I'm excited about taking charge of my own work. I always held back simply because I felt I was not experienced enough or have enough knowledge to pursue self publishing. After several releases with three different small presses, I am ready to take the plunge. I will be receiving my rights back for one of my books (book two in the series is still with the publisher until summer) My reversion of rights will take place in the next few weeks. Anyone ever self pub a book that was in your back list but was always an ebook? This particular book hasn't sold hundreds of copies but I'm assuming a disclaimer stating this was a previously published book? How do you handle such a thing. Anyone have any experience with this? I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks
Once the rights are back, I don't think you have to share whether it was previously published or not. I'm not sure.
My last Vestigial Tale went up a few days ago, so all four are now live:
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/vestigial-tales/
My last Vestigial Tale went up a few days ago, so all four are now live:
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/vestigial-tales/
My 4th month roundup is on the blog:
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/tales-of-a-hybrid-author-month-4-the-card-sharp/
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 63
Borrowed (Amazon): 5
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for August: 68
Total Sales to Date: 326
Per Story in September:
“The Snake Charm”: 4 (plus one bought and refunded)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 14
“The Tarot Reader”: 12
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Sales/Borrows per Story:
“The Snake Charm”: 138 (plus 395 free ones)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 104
“The Tarot Reader”: 56
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Gross Income for September: £59.01 ($94.24)
Total Gross Income to Date: £276.07 ($440.87)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £144.55 ($230.84)
So, technically, per word I'm making a lot less than my trade-published stuff, but I found it a really fun project and I broke even on my costs and then some. I'm hoping the sales will keep trickling in even though I don't plan to upload any more stories, at least for awhile.
http://staticsplit.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/tales-of-a-hybrid-author-month-4-the-card-sharp/
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 63
Borrowed (Amazon): 5
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for August: 68
Total Sales to Date: 326
Per Story in September:
“The Snake Charm”: 4 (plus one bought and refunded)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 14
“The Tarot Reader”: 12
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Sales/Borrows per Story:
“The Snake Charm”: 138 (plus 395 free ones)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 104
“The Tarot Reader”: 56
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Gross Income for September: £59.01 ($94.24)
Total Gross Income to Date: £276.07 ($440.87)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £144.55 ($230.84)
So, technically, per word I'm making a lot less than my trade-published stuff, but I found it a really fun project and I broke even on my costs and then some. I'm hoping the sales will keep trickling in even though I don't plan to upload any more stories, at least for awhile.
I've not self-published, so can't advise you. I can however wish you luck and millions in sales.
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If you're changing the title, then I think it's important to let readers know that this is the same book. Nothing irritates me more than paying twice for the same thing because that isn't made clear. I would state it in the blurb that appears on every retailer's website.
If you're changing the cover, I'd have that noted on your own website. I keep a page which has all my books listed and for each I have a thumbnail of all the different covers. It really helps readers to keep track of your books.
My month 5 roundup:
Total Sales for October:
Paid (Amazon): 46
Borrowed (Amazon): 6
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total: 51
Total Sales to Date: 377
Per Story in October:
“The Snake Charm”: 7 (plus one bought and refunded)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 12
“The Tarot Reader”: 20 (15 of the sales during the Kindle Countdown deal)
“The Card Sharp”: 12 (plus one bought and refunded)
Total Sales/Borrows per Story:
“The Snake Charm”: 145 (plus 395 free ones)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 116
“The Tarot Reader”: 76
“The Card Sharp”: 40
Total Gross Income for September: £36.97 ($58.68)
Total Gross Income to Date: £313.04 ($496.84)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £181.04 ($287.34)
Total Sales for October:
Paid (Amazon): 46
Borrowed (Amazon): 6
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total: 51
Total Sales to Date: 377
Per Story in October:
“The Snake Charm”: 7 (plus one bought and refunded)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 12
“The Tarot Reader”: 20 (15 of the sales during the Kindle Countdown deal)
“The Card Sharp”: 12 (plus one bought and refunded)
Total Sales/Borrows per Story:
“The Snake Charm”: 145 (plus 395 free ones)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 116
“The Tarot Reader”: 76
“The Card Sharp”: 40
Total Gross Income for September: £36.97 ($58.68)
Total Gross Income to Date: £313.04 ($496.84)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £181.04 ($287.34)
Thanks!
I don't think I'll ever make that much from the shorts, but they cover a few lattes a month at least and I've learned a lot.
I'm hoping I'll make more when Masquerade (the third book) goes live. The Kickstarter for that one is now delayed until after the holidays because the rights situation is still being negotiated.
The non-self-publishing stuff is going well, though. False Hearts has now sold in Italy, Germany, and somewhere else I can hopefully announce soon.
I only work about 14 hours a week at my day job (down from 37.5), which makes SUCH a difference--I can get a lot more done.
I don't think I'll ever make that much from the shorts, but they cover a few lattes a month at least and I've learned a lot.
I'm hoping I'll make more when Masquerade (the third book) goes live. The Kickstarter for that one is now delayed until after the holidays because the rights situation is still being negotiated.
The non-self-publishing stuff is going well, though. False Hearts has now sold in Italy, Germany, and somewhere else I can hopefully announce soon.
I only work about 14 hours a week at my day job (down from 37.5), which makes SUCH a difference--I can get a lot more done.
I never updated this, but Tor UK bought the Micah Grey series, so I am no longer self-publishing those.
The short story sales have dropped, but I still make about $20 a month off of them. In total I made around $800 I think, which is okay, but considering it's 60,000 words of fiction, it's not at the professional minimum of 5 cents a word by any stretch.
I took them off Amazon exclusive, but no one was buying through Smashwords or the stores it linked to (Apple, B&N, etc), so I ended up moving them back to Amazon exclusively recently so I can do more promotions.
Since the books have been out of print since January, I'm hoping once the books are re-released, the short stories might go up again. I might later down the line release a few more shorts.
The short story sales have dropped, but I still make about $20 a month off of them. In total I made around $800 I think, which is okay, but considering it's 60,000 words of fiction, it's not at the professional minimum of 5 cents a word by any stretch.
I took them off Amazon exclusive, but no one was buying through Smashwords or the stores it linked to (Apple, B&N, etc), so I ended up moving them back to Amazon exclusively recently so I can do more promotions.
Since the books have been out of print since January, I'm hoping once the books are re-released, the short stories might go up again. I might later down the line release a few more shorts.
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Ooh, congrats on the news re. Tor, Laura. I've read Pantomime & Shadowplay, and I look forward to reading Masquerade once it's published. Do you have any idea when that will be yet?
Thank you for reading! I'm afraid it's still a bit of a wait...early 2017 is the scheduled release, but I have False Hearts in June next year. Not Micah (it's a near future thriller in San Francisco) but hopefully you'll also enjoy it.
(I need to update my sig with release times)
(I need to update my sig with release times)
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