By Chester Campbell
It has been two weeks since my second Greg McKenzie mystery, Designed to Kill, had a three-day freebie book promotion with BookBub. The results are a mixed bag. There were 49,287 free downloads on Amazon. Bill Kirton said he didn't have such large numbers but sold 9,000 books. He's obviously in a different league from me. I've never sold 9,000 books under any circumstance.
I was disappointed with the sales of Designed to Kill, which have only numbered 35, plus six borrows, which pay about the same. But on the whole my books have sold much better than normally. The first and third books have each reached 111sales or borrows, while the fourth and fifth books in the series registered 47 and 30. In all, my ten books totaled 366 sales and 20 borrows. For a relatively unknown micropress author, that's not bad for a month.
Of course, the total result was no bonanza. I paid BookBub $240 for the promotion, which should leave a net return of about $435. If I did that every month for a year, it would be more than $5,000. Not a bad sum for somebody who doesn't depend on book revenue for his bread and butter. As I become better known with the publicity brought by the freebie promotions, hopefully sales will pick up for all my books.
One benefit of the recent BookBub coverage was a noticeable pickup in reviews on Amazon. Designed to Kill had 23 reviews before the promotion. Now it has 43 reviews, including 22 five stars and 12 four stars.
If I keep at it and learn more about the ways of ebook promotion, maybe I'll achieve the success of writers like Jinx Schwartz, author of the Hetta Coffey series. She knows how to do it right. Check out her article on the subject at the Blood Red Pencil blog at this link: http://bit.ly/18Ig8L4.
Visit my website ChesterDCampbell.com
Showing posts with label Greg McKenzie Mysteries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg McKenzie Mysteries. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
How to Promote Free Books to Sell More
Being published by a micropress has its drawbacks, mainly a dearth of distribution and promotion. I like to have my books available in paper for the few who decide to take one, but mainly I sell them at outdoor festivals and book events. Most of my mysteries and thrillers (now ten) are sold as ebooks. And since I decided to cast my lot with Amazon KDP, they're only available in the Kindle Store.
I have used their free days almost monthly over the past year to promote sales. KDP allows you to give a book away for five out of every ninety days. Despite how it sounds, the act of giving away books has a definite effect on book sales. The practice has brought less results as time progressed for several reasons. One has to do with the fact that more and more authors are using the free days route. There are several dozen Internet sites that promote free ebooks, but they get so many requests now that they limit what they do or charge for the service.
I have used several sites in recent months, paying from $5 to $25 for guaranteed listings. When I first began the practice, my books sold well after the three free days (that seems the most effective period) for two weeks or more. Not just the book that had been free, but the rest of my backlist. However, for the past few months, the lingering effect has been much shorter.
Recently I've read posts by my colleagues on some promo sites about their use of BookBub.com. It sends out an email to its list of thousands of readers daily, promoting from two to four ebooks that are either free or on sale at a discount such as 99 cents. This one is not for the faint of heart. For mysteries that are free, the price is $240. For mysteries priced at $1 to $2, it's $720. They claim 700,000 subscribers to the mystery email list and show average downloads of 18,000.
I started three days for a free Kindle copy of my second Greg McKenzie mystery, Designed to Kill, on Saturday. It goes back to $2.99 tonight (Monday) at midnight PDT. As of 10 p.m., the time I'm writing this, the book has been downloaded 49,009 times. During this time, the first book in the series has sold 47 copies, book three 31 copies, book four 12 and book five 6.
If things go as expected (at least hoped), Designed to Kill should sell hundreds of copies in the coming days, while the other books in the series continue to do well. The theory is that if readers like the free book, they'll come back to buy the others. I've already gotten three new four-star and one five-star reviews since the giveaway began. People who take part in these promotions are good about writing reviews on Amazon.
I'll post in a couple of weeks how the after-effect turns out. Has anybody else tried this approach? How were your results?
I have used their free days almost monthly over the past year to promote sales. KDP allows you to give a book away for five out of every ninety days. Despite how it sounds, the act of giving away books has a definite effect on book sales. The practice has brought less results as time progressed for several reasons. One has to do with the fact that more and more authors are using the free days route. There are several dozen Internet sites that promote free ebooks, but they get so many requests now that they limit what they do or charge for the service.
I have used several sites in recent months, paying from $5 to $25 for guaranteed listings. When I first began the practice, my books sold well after the three free days (that seems the most effective period) for two weeks or more. Not just the book that had been free, but the rest of my backlist. However, for the past few months, the lingering effect has been much shorter.
Recently I've read posts by my colleagues on some promo sites about their use of BookBub.com. It sends out an email to its list of thousands of readers daily, promoting from two to four ebooks that are either free or on sale at a discount such as 99 cents. This one is not for the faint of heart. For mysteries that are free, the price is $240. For mysteries priced at $1 to $2, it's $720. They claim 700,000 subscribers to the mystery email list and show average downloads of 18,000.
If things go as expected (at least hoped), Designed to Kill should sell hundreds of copies in the coming days, while the other books in the series continue to do well. The theory is that if readers like the free book, they'll come back to buy the others. I've already gotten three new four-star and one five-star reviews since the giveaway began. People who take part in these promotions are good about writing reviews on Amazon.
I'll post in a couple of weeks how the after-effect turns out. Has anybody else tried this approach? How were your results?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
My Take on Multiple POV
By Chester Campbell
My first published mystery series featured retired Air Force OSI Agent Greg McKenzie. I began writing Greg's story in first person from his point of view. I've stuck with that technique for five books now, and it seems to be working. Greg and his wife Jill are well loved by their fans. But when I decided to start a new series about another Nashville PI with a different sort of background, I chose to write in third person for a little variety.
Third person gives more freedom to explore the inner workings of characters other than the main protagonist. Actually, the first two McKenzie books had third person prologues, but those served to introduce the background for the plots. In the Sid Chance novels, a majority of the story is told from Sid's POV, but several chapters or parts of chapters come from the POV of Jaz LeMieux, his part-time associate, a wealthy ex-cop and successful businesswoman. There are also a few scenes from the viewpoint of the bad guys.
I've recently been working on revisions of the first three manuscripts I wrote back in the early nineties. They comprise a trilogy of post Cold War espionage tales. The main protagonist is Burke Hill, a disgraced former FBI agent who is summoned out of a monastic life as a nature photographer in the Great Smoky Mountains by a CIA agent friend from years before. At the time I was an avid Cold War spy story reader just winding up a career that involved non-fiction writing for newspapers, magazines, and other venues.
Those early books involved multiple points of view on a grand scale. I wasn't aware of any taboos regarding point of view, so I gave each character free reign to tell his part of the story. That's one of the primary changes I've encountered in revising the manuscripts. I try to stick to one POV per scene. On a few occasions I found it necessary to break a scene to allow a character her necessary moment in the sun.
Using multiple points of view gives a greater opportunity to mine tbe depths of character where many people are involved. In Beware the Jabberwock, the first book in the trilogy, a diverse group of characters is involved in carrying out a plot against a pair of world leaders. Looking at the situation from different viewpoints provides a greater understanding of the motivations involved. As long as it's clear whose head we are in, and the shifts aren't ping-pong style, I find it makes for a more interesting story.
On a few occasions, I find it helpful to cheat a bit. Such as a brief mention of something someone sees who isn't the POV character. If such things are done subtly, it won't be noticed and it can avoid the need for additional explanation. To me, rigid rules regarding point of view or any other facet of fiction writing are merely invitations to find ways of getting around them. A good story can be told with many different techniques. It's up to us to find the best way of doing it.
Visit me at Mystery Mania
My first published mystery series featured retired Air Force OSI Agent Greg McKenzie. I began writing Greg's story in first person from his point of view. I've stuck with that technique for five books now, and it seems to be working. Greg and his wife Jill are well loved by their fans. But when I decided to start a new series about another Nashville PI with a different sort of background, I chose to write in third person for a little variety.
Third person gives more freedom to explore the inner workings of characters other than the main protagonist. Actually, the first two McKenzie books had third person prologues, but those served to introduce the background for the plots. In the Sid Chance novels, a majority of the story is told from Sid's POV, but several chapters or parts of chapters come from the POV of Jaz LeMieux, his part-time associate, a wealthy ex-cop and successful businesswoman. There are also a few scenes from the viewpoint of the bad guys.
Those early books involved multiple points of view on a grand scale. I wasn't aware of any taboos regarding point of view, so I gave each character free reign to tell his part of the story. That's one of the primary changes I've encountered in revising the manuscripts. I try to stick to one POV per scene. On a few occasions I found it necessary to break a scene to allow a character her necessary moment in the sun.
Using multiple points of view gives a greater opportunity to mine tbe depths of character where many people are involved. In Beware the Jabberwock, the first book in the trilogy, a diverse group of characters is involved in carrying out a plot against a pair of world leaders. Looking at the situation from different viewpoints provides a greater understanding of the motivations involved. As long as it's clear whose head we are in, and the shifts aren't ping-pong style, I find it makes for a more interesting story.
On a few occasions, I find it helpful to cheat a bit. Such as a brief mention of something someone sees who isn't the POV character. If such things are done subtly, it won't be noticed and it can avoid the need for additional explanation. To me, rigid rules regarding point of view or any other facet of fiction writing are merely invitations to find ways of getting around them. A good story can be told with many different techniques. It's up to us to find the best way of doing it.
Visit me at Mystery Mania
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Overwriting Is Just That
By Chester Campbell
Early in my novel-writing career, if I may be so bold as to call it that, I signed with a large New York literary agency. I had submitted my third book to them, the last in a three-book post-Cold War trilogy, as yet unpublished. The first two novels had agents who fell by the wayside, but this one was written so it would stand alone.
After sending off the manuscript, I received a letter saying they liked the story but it needed a line edit by a professional editor. The main problem was “overwriting.” At that point, I had no idea what overwriting meant. And I had no clue about where to find a professional editor or what a line edit involved. I talked to the agency and was told the manuscript needed cutting. It was too wordy. Among other things, I indulged in too much description. As best I recall, it ran well over 600 typewritten pages.
I didn’t find a professional editor, but I sat down and started cutting. Whole chapters at first, then pages, then paragraphs, sentences, and, finally, words. I sliced it down by about 150 pages and re-submitted the manuscript. That’s when they accepted it and sent me a contract. What happened after that is another sad story. Suffice it to say they never sold the book (plus a couple of others I sent them), and I asked out of the contract.
What I gained out of the experience was an understanding that too many words can be a bad thing. I know, some big name mystery writers get away with describing everything their characters observe in great detail. And a few do it with such lyrical prose that I enjoy it. But very few.
When most writers get carried away with their descriptions, I start skimming. In writing the Greg McKenzie Mysteries, I honed my style to tell stories using only enough detail to paint a clear picture for the reader. I try to keep my dialog short and pithy. Such measures designed to avoid overwriting have resulted in shorter, faster-paced books. Page turners, as they say.
Overwriting also requires getting rid of duplicate explanations that sneak in when it’s necessary to clue in another character on a past event. Do it the easy way by saying something like she told him what she had learned from the visit to Mr. X. Another point I learned from my editor on the first McKenzie book was not to underestimate your reader. It isn’t necessary to explain every little point when you’re dealing with stuff they should already know.
Chris Roerden has a good chapter on overwriting in her book Don’t Murder Your Mystery. I wish I’d had it when I submitted that manuscript back in 1992.
Early in my novel-writing career, if I may be so bold as to call it that, I signed with a large New York literary agency. I had submitted my third book to them, the last in a three-book post-Cold War trilogy, as yet unpublished. The first two novels had agents who fell by the wayside, but this one was written so it would stand alone.
After sending off the manuscript, I received a letter saying they liked the story but it needed a line edit by a professional editor. The main problem was “overwriting.” At that point, I had no idea what overwriting meant. And I had no clue about where to find a professional editor or what a line edit involved. I talked to the agency and was told the manuscript needed cutting. It was too wordy. Among other things, I indulged in too much description. As best I recall, it ran well over 600 typewritten pages.
I didn’t find a professional editor, but I sat down and started cutting. Whole chapters at first, then pages, then paragraphs, sentences, and, finally, words. I sliced it down by about 150 pages and re-submitted the manuscript. That’s when they accepted it and sent me a contract. What happened after that is another sad story. Suffice it to say they never sold the book (plus a couple of others I sent them), and I asked out of the contract.
What I gained out of the experience was an understanding that too many words can be a bad thing. I know, some big name mystery writers get away with describing everything their characters observe in great detail. And a few do it with such lyrical prose that I enjoy it. But very few.
When most writers get carried away with their descriptions, I start skimming. In writing the Greg McKenzie Mysteries, I honed my style to tell stories using only enough detail to paint a clear picture for the reader. I try to keep my dialog short and pithy. Such measures designed to avoid overwriting have resulted in shorter, faster-paced books. Page turners, as they say.
Overwriting also requires getting rid of duplicate explanations that sneak in when it’s necessary to clue in another character on a past event. Do it the easy way by saying something like she told him what she had learned from the visit to Mr. X. Another point I learned from my editor on the first McKenzie book was not to underestimate your reader. It isn’t necessary to explain every little point when you’re dealing with stuff they should already know.
Chris Roerden has a good chapter on overwriting in her book Don’t Murder Your Mystery. I wish I’d had it when I submitted that manuscript back in 1992.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Fair Weather
By Chester Campbell
Outside it was cold and rainy, but inside the Frankfort Convention Center warmth and coziness prevailed. Conditions obviously weren’t as favorable as in years past, what with the economy sliding down the tubes.
So the question arises, is it worth an author’s time to weather the storm and trek off to a book fair?
I journeyed to Frankfort the past weekend for the 27th annual running of the Kentucky Book Fair. Despite the weather, a respectable number of buyers showed up for the Saturday event. But as one man told me apologetically, “Last year my wife and I spent $400. With the way the economy is now, we won’t do nearly that much today.”
Everybody came with the idea of buying books, however, and a few toted away bags full of them. Some authors had an inside track by being well known in Kentucky. Others by being well known in their field. A children’s author at the same table with me had a constant stream of kids, parents, and grandparents stopping to get his colorfully illustrated books signed.
Sitting beside me was Judy Moffett, a science fiction writer who lives part-time in Kentucky and the rest in Pennsylvania. Her paperback books sold well, but the hardcovers bombed, which was a sign of the times.
Book fairs like Kentucky’s bring in 200 or more authors, so there’s plenty of competition. You can’t just sit there and smile. Half the people look the other way and many more seem to be hurrying by on their way to catch the next bus.
If you’re not a household name, it can pay off to put in a little extra effort. Following my usual policy of ignoring the chair at a book signing, I stood behind my table from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for the time it took to eat my sandwich. Anybody who came within range of my voice, which isn’t all that strong, unfortunately, got the smiling query, “Do you read mysteries?”
I talked to enough of them to sell 39 books. Not a bad day, all things considered. The Wall Street Journal recently quoted Barnes & Noble’s chairman as saying he had never “seen a retail climate as poor as the one we are in.” Simon & Schuster reported store traffic was down and fewer customers were buying more than one title.
I had the luxury of four books in my Greg McKenzie Mystery series lined up on my table at Frankfort. A couple of people bought all four.
You never know what will push someone’s hot button. When I told one man that in Deadly Illiusions the Federal Reserve chairman is murdered at the Opryland Hotel, he grinned and said, “I’ve got to have that one.”
It’s always nice when a reader comes by (in this case a member of the DorothyL listserve) and says, “I’ve read all of your books and really love them.”
But the name of the game at a book fair is to sell books. It can be done if you play your cards right.
Outside it was cold and rainy, but inside the Frankfort Convention Center warmth and coziness prevailed. Conditions obviously weren’t as favorable as in years past, what with the economy sliding down the tubes.
So the question arises, is it worth an author’s time to weather the storm and trek off to a book fair?
I journeyed to Frankfort the past weekend for the 27th annual running of the Kentucky Book Fair. Despite the weather, a respectable number of buyers showed up for the Saturday event. But as one man told me apologetically, “Last year my wife and I spent $400. With the way the economy is now, we won’t do nearly that much today.”
Everybody came with the idea of buying books, however, and a few toted away bags full of them. Some authors had an inside track by being well known in Kentucky. Others by being well known in their field. A children’s author at the same table with me had a constant stream of kids, parents, and grandparents stopping to get his colorfully illustrated books signed.
Sitting beside me was Judy Moffett, a science fiction writer who lives part-time in Kentucky and the rest in Pennsylvania. Her paperback books sold well, but the hardcovers bombed, which was a sign of the times.
Book fairs like Kentucky’s bring in 200 or more authors, so there’s plenty of competition. You can’t just sit there and smile. Half the people look the other way and many more seem to be hurrying by on their way to catch the next bus.
If you’re not a household name, it can pay off to put in a little extra effort. Following my usual policy of ignoring the chair at a book signing, I stood behind my table from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for the time it took to eat my sandwich. Anybody who came within range of my voice, which isn’t all that strong, unfortunately, got the smiling query, “Do you read mysteries?”
I talked to enough of them to sell 39 books. Not a bad day, all things considered. The Wall Street Journal recently quoted Barnes & Noble’s chairman as saying he had never “seen a retail climate as poor as the one we are in.” Simon & Schuster reported store traffic was down and fewer customers were buying more than one title.
I had the luxury of four books in my Greg McKenzie Mystery series lined up on my table at Frankfort. A couple of people bought all four.
You never know what will push someone’s hot button. When I told one man that in Deadly Illiusions the Federal Reserve chairman is murdered at the Opryland Hotel, he grinned and said, “I’ve got to have that one.”
It’s always nice when a reader comes by (in this case a member of the DorothyL listserve) and says, “I’ve read all of your books and really love them.”
But the name of the game at a book fair is to sell books. It can be done if you play your cards right.
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