How many self published books have you sold to date?

Maryn

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What if we suggest someone nice or kind has hacked Old Hack's account?

Maryn, ducking
 

Old Hack

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*glares at Maryn*

Ah. I'm being grumpy again. Order is restored.
 

LOTLOF

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I have one novel on Amazon KDP and Createspace. From April through the end of last year I have sold about 5,900. Since my original goals were to sell ten and a hundred, I consider that very successful.
 

juniper

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I made a decision about three months into self-publishing that lowered my sales. I knew it was going to, but it was a choice I needed to make for myself.

Would you mind sharing that decision here? I know you've probably mentioned in your own thread, but that thread is looooong now. :)
 

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For my memoir published in July 2013, I'm closing in on 2,500 sales. Most of the sales have been of the Kindle version, but I think I've sold about 500 paperbacks so far. (It's in 20 libraries, which makes me very happy. Not that you asked.) :D

And congrats, everyone, on your successes!
 

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I think hitting 100 sales of any title is an accomplishment.

There are quite a few members here who have privately told me that they're in the 1K to 5K range, in some cases over the course of three years, but still, I think that's an accomplishment.

What many people don't realize is that just completing a full-length novel is an accomplishment, never mind publishing it.
 

LOTLOF

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What many people don't realize is that just completing a full-length novel is an accomplishment, never mind publishing it.

Couldn't agree with you more.

Coming up with an awesome and original idea? That's the easy part. Turning that idea into a full length, well developed, and interesting novel complete with fully developed characters and surprising plot? That's the challenge.
 

c.m.n.

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This is only a rough estimate, but from Jan 2013 to Nov 2013, I've had about 200 sales between five self published titles. I've been published since 2011.

About threads, I love reading other self publishing journey threads. I've considered making one of my own, since I'm going almost 100% self publish for 2014, but figured I'd probably forget to update it.
 
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merrihiatt

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Parametric, your sales numbers are great too!

Don't tell anyone, but I'm so proud of all of AW's self-publishers, no matter what your sales. You've all done brilliantly, no matter what your sales. Having worked in trade publishing for so long I understand how much hard work and knowledge is involved in bringing a book to market, and I doubt that I could do well if I had to do everything myself. I am in awe of every one of you.

And if anyone so much as hints that I'm being nice or kind I'll deny it and ban them. So there.

Nice? Kind? Never! :D
 

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grayworld

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I self-published a novel and a short story collection with KDP toward the end of November 2013. So far, I've sold 40 novels and 10 of the short collections. That's about where I wanted to be sales-wise, but the pace of those sales has fallen off since the books were first released (around half of those sales were made in the first 10 days after the books went live).
 

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Couldn't agree with you more.

Coming up with an awesome and original idea? That's the easy part. Turning that idea into a full length, well developed, and interesting novel complete with fully developed characters and surprising plot? That's the challenge.

See, I think that coming up with an awesome and original idea, or an awesome new take on a not-so-original idea, is impressive. Gathering the courage to even start writing a book is difficult, and to be commended.

I understand people being interested in sales numbers, and the size of advances, and so on and so forth: but there's a lot to be said for finding satisfaction in the process of writing, and in making your writing the best that it can be, and I wish there were more focus on that and less on these other things which are, after all, out of our control.
 

LBlankenship

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Don't tell anyone, but I'm so proud of all of AW's self-publishers, no matter what your sales. You've all done brilliantly, no matter what your sales. Having worked in trade publishing for so long I understand how much hard work and knowledge is involved in bringing a book to market, and I doubt that I could do well if I had to do everything myself. I am in awe of every one of you.

Aww, you got me right in the feels there...

I'll just link to my blog post with the yearly sales chart.
 

merrihiatt

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Thanks for the link, LB.

See, I think that coming up with an awesome and original idea, or an awesome new take on a not-so-original idea, is impressive. Gathering the courage to even start writing a book is difficult, and to be commended.

I understand people being interested in sales numbers, and the size of advances, and so on and so forth: but there's a lot to be said for finding satisfaction in the process of writing, and in making your writing the best that it can be, and I wish there were more focus on that and less on these other things which are, after all, out of our control.

My bolding.

We do talk a lot about sales numbers and promotion and less about writing and the work and creativity that goes into our world building. I swing on the pendulum about reporting sales figures. On the one hand, it can be very inspiring and lays the groundwork, lets me know where I fit in the grand scheme of things and helps me reach farther and strive for that elusive fruit just beyond my reach. OTOH, it could easily squelch other writers from reporting their one-two sales a month, thinking it is somehow less important. It is not.

The fact that we are creative beings expressing ourselves, and then sharing that deep part of who we are with others, is amazing in itself. Let alone the skills that need to be learned to do it well and carry a book from thought to physical form (and digital availability).
 
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cwbrowning

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My sales info is in my diary thread, but I have no problem repeating here. I self-published my first suspense novel in August, 2013 and the sequel on December 1, 2013. My total sales for 2013 were 85. I have only sold two so far this year. Do I consider it a success? Absolutely. 87 is better than none, and none is what I would have sold if I never self-published. Do I wish I was selling more? Of course! The biggest challenge I am facing in my journey is staying motivated when I check sales reports and see no sales.

On the one hand, it can be very inspiring and lays the groundwork, lets me know where I fit in the grand scheme of things and helps me reach farther and strive for that elusive fruit just beyond my reach. OTOH, it could easily squelch other writers from reporting their one-two sales a month, thinking it is somehow less important. It is not.

The fact that we are creative beings expressing ourselves, and then sharing that deep part of who we are with others, is amazing in itself. Let alone the skills that need to be learned to do it well and carry a book from thought to physical form (and digital availability).

Merrihiatt, you expressed EXACTLY what I have been feeling! I get so discouraged when I read about how much more other self-published writers are selling compared to me, even though I know that it isn't (entirely) about the sales. You are absolutely right in saying that being creative and expressing ourselves and sharing that with others is amazing in and of itself. I have to remind myself daily that the number of books I sell is not as important as the fact that I am doing what I love and pursuing a dream. I'm actually doing it! Thank you for reminding me of that. I guess I needed to hear that tonight! :)

And...Old Hack....you're wonderful! ;)
 

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I think I'm up to about 35 copies sold now, but its the only SPed book I have out there. It's a reprint paranormal romance, and God bless the two people who donated the formatting, cover art and even a small zippy little video trailer. What's most adored about the whole process (besides my loving benefactors) is that I got to name my own little publish company--Pen and Press Publications, my dad's old outfit. He was a major award-winning non-fiction writer and it was his fondest wish to see me become a writer. He was killed before he saw any of my published work. But the sentiment means more than the coin I've received. I did it dad.

And damnit! It was kind of fun going through the experience and feeling at home on the Kindle Boards. I guess they're calling us Hybrids, those of us that go both ways. Uh, you know what mean.

tri:)
 

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Merrihiatt, you expressed EXACTLY what I have been feeling! I get so discouraged when I read about how much more other self-published writers are selling compared to me, even though I know that it isn't (entirely) about the sales. You are absolutely right in saying that being creative and expressing ourselves and sharing that with others is amazing in and of itself. I have to remind myself daily that the number of books I sell is not as important as the fact that I am doing what I love and pursuing a dream. I'm actually doing it! Thank you for reminding me of that. I guess I needed to hear that tonight! :)

I'm very interested in the notion of success, and how it's defined--both for and by writers. I've been considering doing some proper research about it, in fact.

Those who are intrinsically motivated--motivated by the process of the writing itself--tend to have more satisfaction and feel more successful than those of us who are motivated by things like money, and trade publication. The problem with those things is we have no control over them and so if we're motivated by them and feel we can only be a success if we achieve them, we're almost certain to end up disappointed and demotivated.

So, if we try to focus on writing process, completing the books we write, and remember to reward ourselves with kindness when we do our jobs well we're going to be far happier than if we focus purely on chasing things we can't control.

And...Old Hack....you're wonderful! ;)

You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

Ha!
 

merrihiatt

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I'm very interested in the notion of success, and how it's defined--both for and by writers. I've been considering doing some proper research about it, in fact.

Those who are intrinsically motivated--motivated by the process of the writing itself--tend to have more satisfaction and feel more successful than those of us who are motivated by things like money, and trade publication. The problem with those things is we have no control over them and so if we're motivated by them and feel we can only be a success if we achieve them, we're almost certain to end up disappointed and demotivated.

So, if we try to focus on writing process, completing the books we write, and remember to reward ourselves with kindness when we do our jobs well we're going to be far happier than if we focus purely on chasing things we can't control.

For the past 10-15 years, my mom has said, "Christmas just seems kind of blah this year." I tried to find out why she thought it was blah, but she could never really give me a definitive answer.

A long time ago, I changed my definition of Christmas. It wasn't about one day, December 25, in the U.S. It became about the entire Season of Love. I bought fewer presents and shared more presence. I made a plan to attend more events that meant something to me (plays, cantatas, Christmas programs, etc.). I found myself decorating less and enjoying time looking at other people's decorations. It just seemed to turn everything around into a series of events that I wanted to be part of, rather than some stressful, angst-ridden month of a to-do list that was a mile long.

OH, I think you are right, the satisfaction comes in what you put into what you are doing. Sales may come (or not), but we (writers) control how much of ourselves we pour into our writing. That's a pretty magical thing!
 

Old Hack

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Merri, I do like the idea of a Season of Love. That's a perfect example of my point.

I wish more writers followed your example. I know how tempting it can be to measure one's success in terms of sales: but it's almost guaranteed to lead to unhappiness if that's the only way success is measured.
 
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The Math of Quiet Success

How 2 authors are making a full-time living writing fiction even though according to them "We are not bestsellers. We are not hitting lists, making news, being interviewed."

http://moirarogers.com/2013/12/the-math-of-quiet-success/

Fact: We have never signed a contract with any of the Big Six/Five publishers.

Fact: We have never hit the USA Today or New York Times bestseller lists.

Fact: We split just over $100,000 in 2012, and our money was divided pretty evenly between books published by a digital first publisher (mostly Samhain Publishing) and books we self-published on our own.

Fact: We’ll each make that in 2013, which is our fifth year as published authors.
 
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jjdebenedictis

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Hey, KatyPerryfan19, could you please state something of substance regarding your own opinion in this thread? Because I am tired of seeing you toss "rah-rah-self-publishing!" links up and then disappearing.

I mean, what's your agenda, already? There are people here who self-publish; there are people who trade-publish. You're not changing anyone's mind by tossing a link up and then running away, so what are you trying to accomplish by doing so repeatedly?

Let's hear your thoughts.

Edit: Or, failing that, maybe AdamNeymars thoughts? I realize Geo Travis can't be here...
 
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To clarify, when I wrote "if you know the sales data of other self published authors, please share the links," the links I am referring to are those freely available on the world wide web.

The sales data are shared publicly by the authors themselves with full knowledge that anyone with internet access can view these figures.

For example, MaggieDana shared the link to a page where 625 authors have publicly shared their sales data

http://www.kboards.com/authors/

on another thread at AW. That's the kind of links I was referring to.

or this
http://moirarogers.com/2013/12/the-math-of-quiet-success/
The Math of Quite Success

In 2012, we self-published 15 backlist and 2 new stories* as Moira Rogers. We sold 56,486 books. One sold 300 copies for the year. One sold 10,000. None of those broke huge or made news. What they did do is quietly earn a combined $50,000. People who claim to make money in ebooks are usually dismissed as outliers. But with an average of 3300 sales per book, which breaks down to 275 sales per month across all retailers…we’re not talking about breaking down doors here.

or this

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303640604579298604044404682
Russell Blake (435,000 sold)
Melissa Foster (400,000 sold)

He says he has sold more than 435,000 copies of his books, at around $5 to $6 each,
and under Amazon's self-publishing program, he keeps 70%.

Melissa Foster, a 47-year-old mother of six who lives in Maryland, self-published 11
novels in 2013, mostly romances, and says she has sold more than 400,000 copies.
 
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Old Hack

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Thanks for returning to the thread, KatyPerryFan.

I note that you've now started a new thread in the Round Table about The Maths of Quiet Success, so it's probably best if we don't discuss that here: we don't want two discussions going on about the same thing, it causes confusion. One thread per topic in future, thanks.

Merri Hiatt and I had a good discussion on the nature of success a few posts up: what are your views on success, how writers could or should define that, and how those definitions affect writers and their work?